The County fire department has moved up the official start of fire season and suspended indefinitely backyard debris burning throughout most of the County.
Cal Fire said in an April 30 news release, “Due to increasing fire danger from warming temperatures, drying vegetation, and below normal rainfall, Cal Fire San Luis Obispo Unit is declaring the start of fire season and suspending backyard burning.”
Fire season officially started at 8 a.m. Friday, May 1.
“The Declaration of Fire Season is in effect and backyard burning of residential yard debris is prohibited within all State responsibility area lands within San Luis Obispo County,” the notice reads.
The ban applies to anyone who needs a backyard burn permit issued by the Air Pollution Control District (APCD). But it doesn’t apply to all kinds of burn permits.
Cal Fire Unit Chief John Owens, who signed the notice, said, “Other burning [agricultural, range improvement, hazard reduction] requires a valid Cal Fire Burn Permit and must comply with LE-5 and LE-7 requirements. Campfires are allowed where permitted if properly maintained. This proclamation remains in effect until formally terminated.”
Conditions have been heading towards an early fire season for some time as the promising fall and early winter rains in 2025, have been followed by some pretty dry months at the start of 2026. The usual heavy rains we see in SLO County in March didn’t materialize, nor in April.
Instead SLO County has seen occasional rain showers but mostly dry — sometimes hot — temperatures, meaning the wild grasses and vegetation that got off to an early growing season last fall, have been drying out quickly this spring.
This latest pronouncement by Chief Owens comes less than a week after he issued another notice on April 24 that had imposed a burn ban effective May 4.
“Due to the extreme menace of destruction by fire to life, improved property, or natural resources caused by critical fire weather and acute dryness of vegetation; and fire suppression forces being heavily committed to control fires; and, under authority vested in me by the Director of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection,” Chief Owens said, “I hereby suspend, except within the incorporated cities, the privileges of burning by permit and other uses of open fire in the geographic area described as all state responsibility area lands within San Luis Obispo County.”
The State reserves the authority to allow burning of debris, “whenever it can be shown that burning or use of open fire is essential for reasons of public health, safety, or welfare.”
The Chief’s declaration doesn’t apply to incorporated cities, most of which have their own municipal fire department. However, burning of yard debris is generally not allowed at all. Some cities, like Pismo Beach, contract with Cal Fire to deliver fire services to their communities, making them included in state responsibility areas. Los Osos and Cayucos also have contracted fire departments with Cal Fire /County Fire.
