Pahrump burn moratorium lifted

As of 8 a.m. this morning, Friday, Nov. 13, the Pahrump burn moratorium has been lifted and residents can gather up those piles of pesky weeds, tree limbs and other vegetation and put them to the torch in burn barrels or controlled burns.

Typically, the burn season in Pahrump runs from late October or the beginning of November until the end of May the following year. However, the 2019-2020 burn season came to an abrupt and early close this year due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada. With concerns about the availability of resources to deal with the fallout from the novel coronavirus, Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Service decided to put the burn moratorium in place in mid-April, six weeks before the normal schedule.

As a result, many area residents were unable to get their springtime yard clean up finished in time to dispose of that debris via burning and they have been eagerly waiting for the reversal of the moratorium. With the weather finally breaking into cooler fall temperatures, the time has now come and the burn moratorium has officially been lifted to begin the 2020-2021 burn season.

There are a variety of regulations that residents need to follow in order to ensure they are burning legally.

First and foremost, controlled burning is only allowed to be conducted if the owner of the property on which the burn is to occur has obtained a burn permit from Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Service.

“One permit shall be issued to a responsible adult/designee who must attend the burn,” Pahrump Town Ordinance 28 stipulates. “The permit is nontransferable. If the individual permit holder owns more than one piece of property, alternate locations may be listed on that permit number. Should an individual move, the permit may be transferred to the new locations. Applicants for a burn permit shall acknowledge proof of existence of a liability insurance policy for the premises…”

Burn permits, which are free of charge, are issued from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Station #1, 300 N. Highway 160.

Those intending to conduct a controlled burn must also contact Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue prior to beginning the burn, to receive permission from either the fire chief or his or her designee, according to the ordinance. In the event that weather or other conditions could pose a hazard to a controlled burn, permission can be refused.

All controlled burns must be conducted during daylight hours and must be located at least 25 feet from all other combustible materials. The waste vegetation to be burned should not exceed three feet in height. The only kinds of household waste permitted to be burned are paper products and these must be burned inside of a burn barrel.

Anyone found burning without permission may be warned upon a first offense and can be subject to a misdemeanor charge.

The Burn Desk can be reached at 775-727-5658, extension 2.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com