Burn bans in California

No county-level burn ban is currently reported by California Air Resources Board — Smoke Management Program for California. Municipal rules within a county may still apply.

California splits fire-permission authority into two layers that neither one office publishes together. On State Responsibility Area land, CAL FIRE requires a written burn permit under Public Resources Code § 4423, issued per zone and suspended when conditions turn dangerous. Separately, day-to-day open burning almost everywhere else is governed by whichever of California's roughly 35 independent local Air Pollution Control or Air Quality Management Districts covers that address — each decides its own daily burn-day status, on its own website or hotline. There is no statewide feed that aggregates either layer, so no county-level status can be verified automatically here.

Bans are issued by county officials and typically stay in effect until conditions improve or the order expires. Some counties set explicit expiration dates; others leave a ban open-ended until lifted. Check each county's page for the expiration listed on the current order.

Burning on State Responsibility Area land without the required permit, or in violation of its terms, is governed by Public Resources Code § 4423. Willfully violating this chapter is a misdemeanor under PRC § 4601, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to 6 months in county jail, or both — and each day a corrective-action order is violated counts as a separate offense. Local air districts and municipalities can layer their own separate penalties for burning outside a valid burn-day window.