The state firefighting agency has lifted agricultural burning restrictions in San Benito County following recent rainy weather, according to a Calfire press statement.
According to the full statement:
Following recent rain, CAL FIRE’s San Mateo-Santa Cruz, San Benito-Monterrey and Santa Clara Units has lifted the suspension of burning within State Responsibility Area (SRA) in San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Benito, Monterey and portions of San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties effective Monday November 17, 2014.
While cooler temperatures have helped to diminish the threat of wildfire, residents are asked to use caution while conducting debris burns. Burn permits may be required for all burning projects and must be completed between the hours of 8 am to 4 pm. Residents must follow burning requirements and maintain control of their fire at all times. Property owners may be held liable if a fire escapes their control and/or burns the property of a neighbor.
Residential Burning Requirements
Only dry, natural, vegetative material such as leaves, pine needles and tree trimmings that originated on the property may be burned. Burning household garbage is NOT allowed.
Piles will be no larger than four (4) feet in diameter.
Provide clearance around the pile that is ten (10) feet in diameter by removing all material that will burn, down to bare mineral soil.
Have a water source on hand such as a charged garden hose or a minimum of a five (5) gallon backpack, pump type water extinguisher.
Responsible adult needs to be in attendance at all times.
NEVER burn on windy days.
Contact your nearest CAL FIRE station and/or local fire department to acquire the proper burn permit. Residents can confirm the burn day status by calling 1-800-CAL-BURN. For information on complying with air quality rules regulating open burning, the public should review the appropriate Air District website for information on Burn Day status, burn allocations and Air Quality regulations prior to scheduling a burn.
· For Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District’s website go to: http://www.mbuapcd.org/
· For the San Francisco Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s website go to: http://www.baaqmd.gov/
For more information on how to safely burn outdoors visit: www.PreventWildfireCA.org or www.fire.ca.gov.
