{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-2-2-16-26","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 2, § 2-16-26","heading":"Emergency drought conditions - Extreme fire danger -","body":"Burning prohibitions – Penalties - Fireworks.\n\nA. 1. It is unlawful for any person to set fire to any forest,\n\ngrass, range, crop, or other wildlands, or to build a campfire or\n\nbonfire, or to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest,\n\ngrass, range, crop or other wildlands fire in any county, counties\n\nor area within a county where, because of emergency drought\n\nconditions, there is gubernatorially proclaimed extraordinary danger\n\nfrom fire, unless the setting of any backfire during the drought\n\nemergency is necessary to afford protection as determined by a\n\nrepresentative of the Division of Forestry, or unless it can be\n\nestablished that the setting of the backfire was necessary for the\n\npurpose of saving life or property. The burden of proving the\n\nnecessity shall rest on the person claiming a defense.\n\n2. The Division of Forestry shall advise the Governor when the\n\nlands described in paragraph 1 of this subsection in any county,\n\ncounties or area within a county of this state because of emergency\n\ndrought conditions are in extraordinary danger from fire. The\n\nGovernor may by proclamation declare a drought emergency to exist\n\nand describe the general boundaries of the area affected.\n\n3. Any proclamation promulgated by the Governor under authority\n\nof this subsection shall be effective immediately upon the\n\nGovernor's signed approval of the emergency proclamation and shall\n\nsupersede any resolution passed by a board of county commissioners\n\npursuant to subsection B of this section. Notice of the\n\nproclamation shall occur through posting on the Oklahoma Department\n\nof Agriculture, Food, and Forestry's website and informing local\n\nnews media. Evidence of publication or posting as herein provided\n\nshall be maintained by the Forestry Division.\n\n4. When conditions warrant, due notice of the termination of\n\nthe emergency shall be promptly made by proclamation, which shall be\n\npublished or posted in like manner as when officially declared.\n\n5. Any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a\n\nmisdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than One Thousand\n\nDollars ($1,000.00), by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year,\n\nor both.\n\nB. 1. It is unlawful for any person to set fire to any forest,\n\ngrass, range, crop or other wildlands, or to build a campfire or\n\nbonfire, or to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest,\n\ngrass, range, crop or other wildlands fire in any county of this\n\nstate in which the board of county commissioners of the county has\n\npassed a resolution declaring a period of extreme fire danger. As\n\nused in this subsection, \"extreme fire danger\" means:\n\na. all three of the following conditions are present:\n\n(1) severe, extreme, or exceptional drought\n\nconditions exist as determined by the National\n\nOceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)\n\npursuant to its criteria,\n\n(2) no more than one-half (1/2) inch of precipitation\n\nis forecast for the next three (3) days, and\n\n(3) either of the following:\n\n(a) fire occurrence is significantly greater\n\nthan normal for the season and/or initial\n\nattack on a significant number of wildland\n\nfires has been unsuccessful due to extreme\n\nfire behavior, or\nOceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)\n\npursuant to its criteria,\n\n(2) no more than one-half (1/2) inch of precipitation\n\nis forecast for the next three (3) days, and\n\n(3) either of the following:\n\n(a) fire occurrence is significantly greater\n\nthan normal for the season and/or initial\n\nattack on a significant number of wildland\n\nfires has been unsuccessful due to extreme\n\nfire behavior, or\n\n(b) where data is available, more than twenty\n\npercent (20%) of the wildfires in the county\n\nhave been caused by escaped debris or\n\ncontrolled burning, or\n\nb. temperatures for any day over the next three (3) days\n\nare forecasted at or over one hundred (100) degrees\n\nFahrenheit.\n\n2. A majority of the board of county commissioners may call an\n\nemergency meeting at any time to pass or revoke a resolution\n\ndeclaring a period of extreme fire danger in accordance with this\n\nsection.\n\n3. A board of county commissioners shall have the documented\n\nconcurrence of a majority of the chiefs, or their designees, of the\n\nmunicipal and certified rural fire departments located in the county\n\nthat a period of extreme fire danger exists prior to passage of a\n\nresolution declaring a period of extreme fire danger in the county.\n\nThe resolution shall be effective for a period not to exceed\n\nfourteen (14) days from the date of passage by the board of county\n\ncommissioners, unless the burn ban is removed earlier by the same\n\nmethod by which it was approved. If extreme fire danger conditions\n\npersist, subsequent resolutions may be passed by the board of county\n\ncommissioners in the same manner as provided in this paragraph. The\n\nboard of county commissioners, in the resolution, may grant\n\nexceptions to the fire prohibition based on appropriate\n\nprecautionary measures.\n\n4. Agricultural producers burning cropland, rangeland, forests\n\nor pastures as a preferred method of managing their property shall\n\nbe exempt from any resolution passed by a board of county\n\ncommissioners that declares a period of extreme fire danger so long\n\nas the agricultural producers have complied with the following\n\nprocedures:\n\na. submit a written prescribed burn plan to the local\n\nfire department and, if within a protection area, the\n\nlocal office or local representative of the Forestry\n\nDivision of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture,\n\nFood, and Forestry nearest the land to be burned that\n\nshall include the following information:\n\n(1) the name and telephone number of the agricultural\n\nproducer conducting the burn,\n\n(2) the address and legal description of the area to\n\nbe burned,\n\n(3) the objective and purpose of the burn,\n\n(4) a list of fire departments and sheriff's offices\n\nthat are required to be notified pursuant to\n\nsubparagraph c of this paragraph,\n\n(5) a list of adjoining landowners required to be\n\nnotified pursuant to Section 16-28.2 of this\n\ntitle,\n\n(6) a description of any firebreaks used to define\n\nthe boundary of the prescribed burn,\n\n(7) a statement of prescribed weather conditions,\n\n(8) a description of any smoke-management\n\nconsiderations, and\n\n(9) an ignition plan for the burn,\n\nb. keep a copy of the written prescribed burn plan\n\nprovided for in subparagraph a of this paragraph on\n\nsite when conducting the prescribed burn,\n\nc. notify the county sheriff and the dispatch center of\n\nthe local fire department prior to conducting the\n\nprescribed burn, and\n\nd. comply with the notification procedures outlined in\n\nSection 16-28.2 of this title.\n\n5. The prescribed burn plan provided for in paragraph 4 of this\n\nsubsection shall be deemed approved seventy-two (72) hours after\n\nsubmission to the local fire department; provided, that the local\n\nfire department may amend the submitted burn plan within seventy-two\nrior to conducting the\n\nprescribed burn, and\n\nd. comply with the notification procedures outlined in\n\nSection 16-28.2 of this title.\n\n5. The prescribed burn plan provided for in paragraph 4 of this\n\nsubsection shall be deemed approved seventy-two (72) hours after\n\nsubmission to the local fire department; provided, that the local\n\nfire department may amend the submitted burn plan within seventy-two\n\n(72) hours after submission.\n\n6. The prescribed burn plan provided for in paragraph 4 of this\n\nsubsection shall not include campfires, household trash, debris or\n\npile burning.\n\n7. Nothing in paragraph 4 of this subsection shall supersede\n\nrequirements set by a proclamation promulgated by the Governor under\n\nauthority of this section, interfere with the authority of the\n\nOklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry to enforce\n\nburning laws or change the burner's liability as prescribed by law.\n\n8. Any resolution passed by a board of county commissioners\n\nunder authority of this subsection shall be effective immediately\n\nupon passage of the resolution. Notice of the resolution shall be\n\nsubmitted to the Forestry Division of the Oklahoma Department of\n\nAgriculture, Food, and Forestry, all local news media, local law\n\nenforcement officials, and the state headquarters of the Department\n\nof Public Safety, the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department and\n\nthe Department of Wildlife Conservation on the day of passage of the\n\nresolution. Evidence of publication or posting as provided in this\n\nparagraph shall be maintained by the county.\n\n9. The provisions of this subsection may be enforced by any law\n\nenforcement officer of this state.\n\n10. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this\n\nsubsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to\n\na fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), to\n\nimprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or to both such fine\n\nand imprisonment.\n\n11. The selling of fireworks shall not be considered an act in\n\nviolation of this subsection.\n\n12. All fire departments and appropriate county officials shall\n\nbe allowed to place \"Burn Ban\" signs on agreed-upon signposts\n\ncontrolled by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Oklahoma\n\nTurnpike Authority (OTA). Fire departments and appropriate county\n\nofficials shall work with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation\n\nto agree upon locations for signage. The Oklahoma Department of\n\nTransportation shall develop standards that fire departments and\n\nappropriate county officials shall adhere to in placing signage. It\n\nshall be the responsibility of the entity placing the sign to post\n\nand remove signage in a timely manner. Signage shall not obstruct\n\nthe view of traffic. Signage costs shall be the responsibility of\n\nthe fire department or county wishing to install.","path":["OK Code","Title 2"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os2.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"591c52d7eded71470c0c94879e887f258fb6b3de346a641ea3ed1b370ee93ed4","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-2-2-16-25","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-2-2-16-27"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}