Umatilla Indian Reservation to Allow Open Burning Starting Oct. 11

MISSION – The Umatilla Tribal Fire Department (UTFD) has announced that open burning will be allowed again on the Umatilla Indian Reservation (UIR) starting Friday, Oct. 11.

UTFD Chief James Hall said the ban on open burning would be lifted Oct. 11 and that all other public use restrictions are lifted and allowed. Hall’s announcement corrects an earlier report that open burning was allowed on the UIR beginning Oct. 1.

To burn on the UIR, one must abide by the following Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) regulations:

• All burns must always be maintained, meaning someone must attend to the area being burned.
• Burning of only natural vegetation items such as untreated papers/wood, grasses and limbs/ trees is allowed.
• Burning must only be conducted on “Burn Days” as part of the CTUIR Office of Air Quality.
• Burning must be out by dusk for residential burning.
• Use extreme caution and make sure the fire is completely out before leaving it unattended.

To obtain a CTUIR burn permit application, visit CTUIR - Burn Permits, call the CTUIR Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Air Quality at 541-429-7080 (follow prompts) or email oaq@ctuir.org.

Burn day notices are usually updated by 9 a.m. at the Office of Air Quality’s phone number listed above. For additional information regarding agricultural/forestry prescribed burns or other types of burning or air quality questions, call the Office of Air Quality at 541-969-3151.

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is comprised of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Tribes, and formed under the Treaty of 1855 at the Walla Walla Valley, 12 Stat. 945. In 1949, the Tribes adopted a constitutional form of government to protect, preserve and enhance the reserved treaty rights guaranteed under federal law.