A. 1. The provisions of this section apply to a prescribed burn.
2. Any owner wishing to set fire to land in order to conduct a prescribed burn shall comply with the provisions of this section.
B. 1. Within sixty (60) days prior to conducting a prescribed burn, the owner of land to be burned shall orally or in writing notify all landowners whose lands adjoin the owner’s land to be burned.
2. If any landowner is burning on a large, consolidated tract of land in which there are multiple adjacent owners, only those owners with adjoining land within one (1) mile of the proposed burn area must be notified.
3. The owner shall include in the written notice or shall orally notify the adjoining landowners of the proposed date and location of the burn and a telephone number where the owner can be reached for information regarding the prescribed burn.
C. In addition to notification of adjoining property owners pursuant to subsection B of this section, the owner of the land to be burned shall complete the prescribed burn notification plan specified in subsection D of this section and shall submit such plan to the rural fire department nearest the land to be burned. If the land to be burned is in a protection area, the owner shall also submit a copy of the notification plan to the local office or local representative of the Forestry Division nearest to the land to be burned.
D. Any person wishing to conduct a prescribed burn shall complete this form, distributed by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, which shall be in substantially the following form:
Name_______________________________________ Phone____________
Address_____________________________________ County____________
City, State, Zip_______________________________________________
Ranch name, if any_____________________________________________
Area to be burned______________________________________________
Approximate acres to be burned_________________________________
Written distance description of location_______________________
_______________________________________________________________
Projected time frame___________________________________________
Date of previous burn__________________________________________
Objectives to be accomplished through the prescribed burn:
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Contact information:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Rural Fire Department:
Name:Location:Phone No.:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Forestry District Office (for protection areas)______________
_____________________________________________________________
Adjoining landowners:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
The original copy of the form must be filed with the rural fire department nearest to the land to be burned. If conducting a prescribed burn within a protection area, a copy of the prescribed burn notification plan must be filed with the local office or local representative of the Forestry Division nearest to the land to be burned. A copy of the plan shall be retained by the owner of the land to be burned.
E. 1. Whether the land is located within or outside a protection area, the owner of land to be burned shall, within forty-eight (48) hours of conducting a prescribed burn, notify the rural fire department receiving a copy of the prescribed burn notification plan that the prescribed burn will be conducted.
2. Within a protection area, the owner of land to be burned shall also, within the time period required by Section 7 of this act, notify the local office or local representative of the Forestry Division receiving a copy of the prescribed burn notification plan.
F. A prescribed burn conducted pursuant to provisions of this section shall:
1. Be considered in the public interest and shall not constitute a public or private nuisance; and
2. Be considered a property right of the property owner if vegetative fuels are used.
G. 1. Any owner conducting a prescribed burn who is found by a court of law to have caused damages or injury as a result of accident or by ordinary negligence shall only be civilly liable for actual damages resulting from the prescribed burn.
2. Any owner conducting a prescribed burn who is found by a court of law to have committed gross negligence in conducting the prescribed burn may be found to be both civilly liable for the amount of damage done by the fire, and criminally liable pursuant to paragraph 3 of this subsection.
3. Any owner setting or causing to be set on fire land as authorized by this section, and as a result of gross negligence permitting the fire to spread beyond the control of the owner or beyond the bounds of the owner’s land, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, be fined a sum not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or imprisonment in the county jail for a period not more than six (6) months.
Added by Laws 2001, c. 208, § 5, emerg. eff. May 14, 2001. Amended by Laws 2003, c. 410, § 2; Laws 2007, c. 195, § 8, emerg. eff. May 31, 2007.