ST. HELENS, St. Helens residents with a pile of fall leaves and branches get their chance to burn it starting Saturday, Oct. 24. The city’s fall burn period runs through Sunday, Nov. 8, according to Columbia River Fire & Rescue (CRF&R).
That start is a week later than usual. City code sets the fall burn period to typically begin on the third Saturday in October, which this year would have been Oct. 17.
Outside city limits, burning is already allowed. Fire districts across Columbia County reopened open burning on Oct. 14, when CRF&R and the Clatskanie Rural Fire Protection District posted notices that the summer ban had ended. A day later, at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 15, the Oregon Department of Forestry ended fire season on forestland across northwest Oregon, including Columbia County. That ban had been in effect since June 15.
St. Helens allows backyard burning only twice a year: once in spring and once in fall, 16 days each. The spring period normally starts in May. This year the city moved it up to April 11 to 26 because of low snowpack and a dry winter.
The burn periods cover yard debris only. They don’t apply to charcoal barbecues or recreational fire pits.
Get a permit first. Every resident who burns needs a free residential burn permit from CRF&R. Permits are available on the agency’s website or at its administration office, 270 Columbia Blvd., St. Helens. A permit is good for one year from the date it’s issued. CRF&R does not issue residential permits to businesses, churches, contractors or multi-unit properties.
Call before you light. A permit doesn’t guarantee you can burn on a given day. Call the burn line at 503-397-4800 each day you plan to burn, because a ban can be put back in place at any time.
What you can’t burn: household garbage, plastics, petroleum products, rubber products, food waste, animal remains, asphalt and other waste, under CRF&R’s permit rules. Burning is allowed during daylight hours only.
CRF&R’s permit rules also require residents to:
- Keep a garden hose, or a shovel and a 5-gallon bucket of water, at the burn site.
- Clear 10 feet around the fire.
- Keep burn piles at least 50 feet from buildings, and burn barrels at least 15 feet away.
- Never leave a fire unattended.
Not burning? The Columbia County Transfer Station, 1601 Railroad Ave., St. Helens, takes yard waste for a fee, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
In Columbia City, CRF&R lists the fall burn period as Nov. 7 through 15.
Questions about burn permits go to CRF&R’s administration office at 503-397-2990. Questions about the city’s burn periods go to Communications Officer Crystal King, cking@sthelensoregon.gov or 503-366-8215.