Burn Ban issued by City of Baker City
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY – (7/2) UPDATE: (From City of Baker City) On July 2, 2025, the Oregon Department of Forestry instituted a burn ban due to high fire danger which was adopted by the City of Baker City. Due to resulting social media posts and confusion regarding the fire restrictions published by the Oregon Department of Forestry, the City of Baker City including the Police and Fire Departments want to clarify fireworks restrictions being imposed inside the city limits.
Illegal fireworks in Oregon are defined as any fireworks that fly, explode, or behave in an uncontrolled or unpredicted manner and include any firework that travels more than 12 feet horizontally across the ground. Specifically, this includes items like mortars, rockets, missiles, firecrackers, cherry bombs, M-80s, roman candles, and bottle rockets.
Legal fireworks in Oregon are defined as primarily ground-based consumer fireworks that do not explode or leave the ground. This includes items like fountains, smoke devices, wheels, flitter sparklers, and ground spinners. Novelty devices such as party poppers and snakes are also legal in Oregon.
Illegal fireworks are still illegal and cannot be used. Possession and/or use of illegal fireworks is a crime in Oregon punishable by criminal and civil fines to include jail. Users of fireworks who deploy any fireworks in a reckless manner could be investigated and charged criminally for reckless burning.
We ask users of fireworks to use caution during this time of year when deploying legal fireworks to include the following:
1) Fireworks should be deployed over concrete or asphalt to decrease the risk of fire.
2) Users of legal fireworks should have a water supply and/or fire extinguisher immediately accessible to extinguish any fire starting from a fireworks apparatus.
3) Users of fireworks should drown the remains of fireworks with water until cooled.
As a reminder, Oregon Department of Forestry’s ban must be followed in areas that fall under their fire protection area to include the ban on all fireworks. The city limits of Baker City are not within the Oregon Department of Forestry’s fire protection area.
Please use good judgement and be safe over the 4th of July as we all celebrate our 250th Independence Day.
PREVIOUS: (From City of Baker City) Effective 12 midnight July 2, 2025
These restrictions affect private, state, county, municipal, and tribal lands in Union, Baker, Wallowa and Umatilla counties along with small portions of Malheur, Morrow, and Grant counties, a total of about 2 million acres.
Restrictions include: • Open fires are prohibited, including campfires, charcoal fires, cooking fires, and warming fires, except at designated locations. • Portable cooking stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels are allowed. • Propane fire pits are allowed if they are self-contained and 3 feet away from any flammable fuels with a maximum flame height of 2 feet. • Non-industrial chain saw use is prohibited from noon to 8 p.m. • Non-industrial chainsaw use is allowed at all other hours if the following firefighting equipment is present with each operating saw: one shovel or other firefighting tool and one 8-ounce or larger fire extinguisher or 1-gallon of water. In addition, a fire watch is required at least one hour following the end of chainsaw use. • Electric chain saws are allowed all day. • Cutting, grinding, and welding of metal is prohibited from noon-8 p.m. Cutting, grinding, and welding of metal is permitted at all other hours, if conducted in a 10-foot area cleared of flammable vegetation, shovel or other firefighting tool, a minimum of 1-gallon of water, or 2 ½ pound or larger fire extinguisher. • Mowing dried and cured grass with power-driven equipment is prohibited from noon to 8 p.m., except for the commercial culture and harvest of agricultural crops. • Electric string trimmers are allowed all day. • Any electric fence controller in use shall be: 1) Listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory or certified by the Department of Consumer and Business Services; and 2) Operated in compliance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Possession of the following firefighting equipment is required for any vehicle/UTV/ATV traveling on unimproved roadways where flammable vegetation exists on roadway: shovel or other firefighting tool, minimum of 1-gallon of water, or 2 ½ pound or larger fire extinguisher.
The following are prohibited starting July 2: All open debris burning, and the use of burn barrels. • Use of fireworks. • Use of exploding targets. • Use of tracer ammunition or any bullet with a pyrotechnic charge in its base. • Smoking while traveling, except in vehicles on improved roads, in boats on the water, or in a cleared area free of flammable vegetation. • Use of sky lanterns throughout the year in Oregon.
