VERDIGRIS
FIRE/RESCUE
OPEN BURNING?
CALL (918)923-4755
252:100-13-2. Definitions
"Clean lumber" means wood or wood products that have
been cut or shaped and include wet, air-dried, and kiln-dried wood products. Clean lumber does not include wood products that have been painted, pigment-stained, or pressure-treated by compounds such as chromate copper arsenate, pentachlorophenol,
and creosote, or manufactured wood products that contain adhesives or resins (e.g., plywood, particle board, flake board, and oriented strand board).
​
"Wood waste" means untreated wood and untreated wood products, including tree stumps (whole or chipped), trees, tree limbs (whole or chipped), bark, sawdust, chips, scraps, slabs, millings, and shavings. Wood waste does not include:
(A) Grass, grass clippings, bushes, shrubs and
clippings from bushes and shrubs from residential,
commercial/retail institutional, or industrial sources as
part of maintaining yards or other private or public lands.
(B) Construction, renovation, or demolition wastes.
(C) Clean lumber.
(D) Treated wood and treated wood products, including
wood products that have been painted, pigment-stained, or pressure
treated by compounds such as chromate copper arsenate, pentachlorophenol, and creosote, or manufactured wood products
that contain adhesives or resins (e.g., plywood, particle board, flake board, and oriented strand board).
"Yard brush" means cut or broken branches, leaves, limbs, shrubbery, or tree trimmings. It does not include refuse, grass clippings, in-ground tree stumps, or any non-vegetative
material
252:100-13-5. Open burning prohibited
The open burning of refuse and combustible materials is prohibited unless conducted in strict accordance with the conditions and requirements contained in 252:100-13-7 and 252:100-13-9. Under no circumstances shall the open burning of tires be allowed.
​
252:100-13-7. Allowed open burning
When not prohibited by law or ordinance, the following
types of burning are allowed, provided the conditions and
requirements in OAC 252:100-13-9 have been met:
(1) Fire training. Open burning of human-made structures
for the purpose of municipal fire department training
is allowed as provided for in the Oklahoma Clean Air Act,
27A O.S., Section 2-5-106.1. Industrial and commercial
facilities and fire training schools may conduct
on-site live burn fire training.
(2) Elimination of hazards. Provided prior authorization
is obtained from the local fire chief, open burning is allowed
for the elimination of:
(A) A fire hazard that cannot be abated by any other means.
(B) A dangerous or hazardous material when there
is no other practical or lawful method of abatement
or disposal, if authorization is also received from the
DEQ prior to such burning.
(3) Recreational and ceremonial fires. Open burning
is allowed for camp fires and other fires used solely for
recreational purposes, ceremonial occasions, or non-commercial
preparation of food.
(4) Land management and land clearing operations.
Open burning is allowed for the following land
management and land clearing operations:
(A) Fires purposely set to forest, crop. or range
lands for a specific reason in the management of
forests, crops, or game, in accordance with practices
recommended by the Oklahoma Department
of Wildlife Conservation, the Oklahoma Department
of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, and the
United States Forest Service.
(B) Fires purposely set for land clearing
operations if conducted at least 500 feet upwind of any
occupied residence other than those located on the property
on which the burning is conducted. Such burning shall be
conducted using an air curtain incinerator in counties or
areas that are or have been designated nonattainment,
or in the two MSAs with a population of greater than
nine hundred thousand. The Oklahoma City MSA
consists of Canadian, Cleveland, Grady, Lincoln,
Logan, McClain, and Oklahoma Counties. The Tulsa
MSA consists of Creek, Okmulgee, Osage, Pawnee,
Rogers, Tulsa, and Wagoner Counties.
(5) Burning of domestic refuse. Where no collection
and disposal service is reasonably available, domestic
refuse may be burned on the property where the waste is
generated.
(6) Hydrocarbon burning. Open burning of hydrocarbons
is allowed for:
(A) The disposal of spilled hydrocarbons or the
waste products of oil exploration, development, refining,
or processing operations which cannot be
feasibly recovered or otherwise disposed of in a legal
manner. Notice must be given to the DEQ prior to
such burning.
(B) The disposal of waste hydrocarbons through
a flare. The owner or operator shall be required to
use a smokeless flare if a condition of air pollution is
determined to exist by the DEQ.
(7) Yard brush. Yard brush may be burned on the
property where the waste is generated.