No-burn days · The San Joaquin Valley
Can I burn today in the San Joaquin Valley?
The answer is called area by area — the table below is the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's own current call for each one, in its words.
| Area | Today's call | For | Tomorrow |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Joaquin | Burning Discouraged | August 27, 2026 | — |
| Stanislaus | Burning Discouraged | August 27, 2026 | — |
| Merced | Burning Discouraged | August 27, 2026 | — |
| Madera | Burning Discouraged | August 27, 2026 | — |
| Fresno | Burning Discouraged | August 27, 2026 | — |
| Kings | Burning Discouraged | August 27, 2026 | — |
| Tulare | Burning Discouraged | August 27, 2026 | — |
| Kern (SJV Air Basin portion) | Burning Discouraged | August 27, 2026 | — |
| Sequoia National Park and Forest | Burning Discouraged | August 27, 2026 | — |
How the program works here
The district’s Rule 4901 “limits residential wood burning in the San Joaquin Valley to help reduce harmful particulate matter pollution during the winter,” in its own words, and the program runs November 1 through the end of February. Each county gets one of three daily declarations: Burning Discouraged, No Burning Unless Registered, or No Burning For All — the words above are the district’s, read from its own daily forecast.
On a “No Burning Unless Registered” day, only devices registered with the district may burn; “No Burning For All” means exactly that. Outside the season, the district’s own page says the season has ended, and this page says the same.
Season: The program is in effect November 1 through the end of February, in the district’s own words.
Check with the district directly
No-burn calls flip with the evening forecast — confirm with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District before you light. What you read here is not permission to burn.
The fire-season side of the question
A no-burn day is about winter air, not wildfire. The dry-season version — county burn bans and fire restrictions — lives on this site's find-your-county page and the California page . And if the fire is a woodpile question, the firewood BTU chart covers what a cleaner, drier cord actually buys you.