03/21/2026
We have had several questions about control burns, or prescribe burning. So here is the law;
1. You are legally entitled to burn the property as an owner, authorized tenant or agent of the owner/authorized tenant. Statutory Reference: O.S. Title 2 § 16-24.1
2. You shall provide adequate firelines, sufficient manpower and firefighting equipment to contain your fire to the property you are authorized to burn and stay with the fire until it is extinguished. Statutory Reference: O.S. Title 2 § 16-28.1.A.2
Legally conducted prescribed burns by law are considered to be in the public interest and shall not constitute a public or private nuisance, and be considered a property right of the property owner if vegetative fuels are used. Limited liability burning includes more specific requirements than lawful controlled burning. Specifically, there is a notification process that needs to be completed outlined
below.
• Conduct their burn in a lawful manner, as described in O.S. Title 2 § 16-28.1
• Notify all adjoining landowners within 60 days prior to conducting the burn, either orally or in writing. In the case where the property being burned is part of a large consolidated ownership, only those landowners adjoining the property within one mile of the proposed burn need to be notified.
• Complete a notification plan available from Oklahoma Forestry Services. This plan must be filed with the fire department nearest the land to be burned. If the land is in one of the Oklahoma Forestry Services’ Protection Areas, a copy must also be provided to the local Forestry Division office or representative.
• Contact the Fire Department receiving the notification plan (and Forestry Services office, if the property being burned is in the OFS organized protection area) within 48 hours of conducting the prescribed burn.
Open burning for land management and land clearing operations may be conducted only if the following conditions and requirements are met:
• No public nuisance is or will be created.
• The burning is controlled so that a visibility hazard is not created on any roadway, rail track or air field as a result of the air contaminants being emitted.
• The burning is conducted so that the contaminants do not adversely affect the ambient air quality of a city or town.
• The initial burning shall begin only between three hours after sunrise and three hours before sunset and additional fuel shall not be intentionally added to the fire at times outside these limits. This requirement does not apply to the open burning allowed under OAC 252:100-13-7(2), (3), (4)(A) and (6)(B)
In addition to civil liability, any person who willfully violates this section is guilty of a Class D1 felony offense punishable by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), by imprisonment as provided for in subsections B through F of Section 20N of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or by both.
For more detail search 2 OK Stat § 16-28.1 (2025)
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