Yard waste burning could be banned year-round in King County

Published 2:30 am Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) is considering a year-round ban on residential yard waste burning in its four counties, including King County.

PSCAA regulates local residential yard waste burning rules and is required by state law to regularly assess whether residents have a reasonable alternative to burning. The goal, according to the PSCAA website, is to reduce smoke, both to protect the environment and the health of residents.

Outdoor burning is already banned in all Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) across PSCAA’s four counties: King, Kitsap, Snohomish and Pierce. UGAs include cities and surrounding areas that the state has designated for a city’s future growth under the Growth Management Act.

This new ban, if approved, would affect land outside UGAs, like Fall City and unincorporated areas between Snoqualmie Valley towns.

Alternatives to burning yard waste — such as composting or curbside collection and drop off services — are now “widely available,” PSCAA states.

Recycling services for yard waste are available at the Bow Lake, Cedar Falls, Enumclaw, Factoria, Shoreline and Vashon transfer stations, but not all of King County’s waste facilities.

Joseph Elfelt lives outside of Redmond in King County Fire District 34. He said he has been burning branch piles on his land for several years to improve his property’s defensible space in case of wildfire.

Elfelt has navigated a potential outdoor burning ban in his fire district before. At that time, he said, residents showed up by the hundreds to a board of commissioner’s meeting, voicing their concerns. Elfelt said he spoke at the meeting, proposing a compromise.

“I said, ‘It is too dry to burn in the summer due to wildfire risk and too wet to burn in the winter.’ I asked, ‘How many people could get by if the commissioners gave us one reasonable period to burn in the spring and a second reasonable period to burn in the fall? Raise your hand if you could get by with a compromise like that.’ The commissioners looked out at a room full of raised hands,” he said.

Elfelt noted that different fire districts have different outdoor burning rules. But for PSCAA, his request is the same: allow residents outside UGAs to burn yard waste during March, April, May, October, November and December.

What’s next?

Over the next few months, PSCAA will create a draft of its new outdoor burning rules. In the last few months of the year, the public will be able to comment on that draft.

A decision is expected to be made by the PSCAA board of directors in 2027. The board includes mayors, council members and other elected officials from the four counties.

To sign up for email alerts, email PSCAA or see if your property would be affected, visit pscleanair.gov/723/Upcoming-Rulemaking-for-Residential-Yard.