All residents of Santa Cruz County’s unincorporated areas will be required to get a Cal Fire permit before burning backyard debris beginning Monday.
The mandatory policy change, which standardizes regulations across the county, was announced Wednesday by the county and Cal Fire’s San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit, known as CZU.
“This is a crucial step for fire safety,” Colby Simms, the prevention bureau chief of Cal Fire CZU, said in a press release. “The good news is that we’ve made the permitting process much simpler and more convenient.”
Applications for the residential burn permits can be made online. The procedure requires watching an informational video about two minutes long.
Only dry, dead natural vegetation originating on the property may be burned; trash, milled lumber or similar materials are prohibited.
Piles are limited to 4 feet by 4 feet. A water supply and hand tools, such as shovels, must be present.
When burning is complete, the pile must be soaked with water, sifting the ash and materials with a hand tool to expose hot spots, and reapplying water until no heat or smoke remains.