Burn Permits - Fire Marshal's Office (DEP)

2009 BURN SEASON
TYPE OF BURN	START DATE	ENDING DATE
Hazardous Vegetation	November 1st*	May 14th
Agricultural	November 1st*	April 30th

*No permits are valid during Fire Season.

Why Is A Burn Permit Needed? The primary purpose of a burn permit is to assure that the burning operation is conducted in a reasonably safe manner. A permit from our office is required for all burns conducted on properties located in the Santa Clara County Wildland Urban interface Fire Area (WUIFA).

Click Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) to see if your property is located in the Wildland Urban Interface Fire Area, view the (Google Earth) Wildland Urban Interface Fire Area Map or call our Land Development Deputy at (408) 299-5763.

Our preference is that you chip or haul vegetation off your site because burning is dangerous even in the winter, and it contributes to poor air quality in your community. Burning is an option only when hauling or chipping is not feasible.

Burn permits can be issued for the purpose of disposing of waste vegetation only for one of the following reasons:
Ag pic Approved Agricultural Waste or Pest/Disease
Forest Defensible Space Clearance

ALL OTHER OPEN BURNING IS PROHIBITED

If your property is NOT in the WUI, contact your local fire department regarding permission to burn.

ALL BURN PERMITS FOR PROPERTIES LOCATED IN THE UNINCORPORATED CITY OF SAN JOSE FIRE RESPONSE AREA
WILL BE HANDLED BY THE SAN JOSE FIRE DEPARTEMENT

Regulations

IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND that we cannot issue a burn permit unless your burn qualifies under both the Fire Marshal and BAAQMD regulations.

Fire Code Regulations for open burning contained in our Standard:
CFMO-SE8 Burn Permits in the Wildland Urban Interface

Bay Area Air Quality Management District Regulations

Permit Process

A) Prescreening Required:

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE PRESCREENED. To prevent charging fees for a permit that cannot be issued applications will NOT be accepted unless the project has been prescreened by our Land Development Deputy. Please call (408) 299-5763 to receive your prescreening over the phone or to make an in-person appointment.

NOTE:IF YOU DO NOT QUALIFY FOR A BURN PERMIT additional assistance may also be obtained from the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council at: www.sccfiresafe.org.

B) Submittal Requirements: Please provide the following

A completed Miscellaneous Fire Marshal Review Application

The appropriate completed BAAQMD Notification Form, downloadable at: http://www.baaqmd.gov/Forms.aspx (look under Type>Open Burning)

Agricultural Burns ONLY: Agricultural Commissioner's Form: "Permit for Agricultural Fire for Disease and Pest Prevention" signed by the Ag Commissioner's Office

A PERMIT FEE of $294.00 must be paid at the time you submit your application.
If your site is not ready to inspect when our inspector arrives, you will be charged a reinspection fee of $441.00 to cover a return visit.

IMPORTANT:
YOU MUST HAVE THE SITE READY TO BURN AND SHOW COMPLIANCE WITH ALL FIRE CODE AND BAAQMD REQUIREMENTS AT THE TIME OF INSPECTION TO AVOID A REINSPECTION FEE

C) Where to Submit:

Submittals are received only at our main office. You may walk-in or mail your submittal packet to:

Fire Marshal's Office
70 W. Hedding Street
7th Floor, East Wing
San Jose CA 95110

IMPORTANT: If mailing your submittal please DO NOT MAIL UNTIL your submittal has been Prescreened or it will not be on our list of prescreened customers, making it an incomplete submittal.

D) Required Site Inspection: Upon receipt of a complete submittal packet our staff will contact you to schedule your site inspection. To verify date and time or cancel your scheduled inspection call (408) 299-5762 or email sharon.king@pln.sccgov.org.

Inspections must be scheduled on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays only.

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