Cal Fire lifts open burning ban, cites recent rain

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection issued a statement Thursday that lifted a ban on outdoor open burning that had been in place since May 2013.
In a Cal Fire news release, recent rainfall and the forecast of more rain on the horizon has created safer, damper conditions.
The ban had affected San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Benito, Monterey and portions of San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
The release cautioned that the region still has critically low cumulative rainfall for this season, in some cases as low as 10 percent of normal. The current and forecasted precipitation does not guarantee a return to a normal water year and fuel moisture levels are not expected to increase to their normal winter levels.
To review Cal Fire’s debris burn guidelines,  visit http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/DebrisBurning.pdf.
For information on complying with air quality rules regulating open burning, visit http://www.mbuapcd.org/