ADEQ opens comment period on Quartzsite open-burn permit proposal

Quartzsite residents who burn brush, clear lots or handle wildfire cleanup could soon deal with a more local permit process. ADEQ has proposed handing open-burn permitting authority to the Quartzsite Fire District, and the public comment period is open now through July 10.

The proposal is laid out in Delegation Agreement No. EV26-0098 between the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the Quartzsite Fire District. Under the agreement, ADEQ would delegate authority under state law and air-quality rules for issuing open-burning permits, while the state would keep the underlying authority and oversight. The fire district would issue permits on ADEQ’s behalf, and it would have to keep permit records for five years and provide copies, plus daily burn-activity records, to ADEQ on request.

For Quartzsite property owners, contractors and residents who burn yard waste, the practical change is not whether permits exist. It is who handles them. ADEQ says permits are still required for outdoor fires used for weed abatement, prevention of fire hazards and firefighting instruction. They are not required for cooking fires, campfires, recreation, animal branding, U.S. flag disposal or orchard heaters. The permits remain free and valid for one year.

That matters in western La Paz County, where smoke, wind and fire conditions can change quickly. Arizona’s Department of Forestry and Fire Management says 9 out of 10 wildland fires in the state are human-caused. It also reported 2,162 fires in 2024 that burned more than 280,000 acres on state, federal and tribal lands, with more than 1,400 determined to be human-caused. On May 20, 2026, the agency said Stage 2 fire restrictions on State Trust Lands included La Paz County and Yuma County, underscoring how quickly burn rules can tighten when conditions worsen.

The Quartzsite Fire District already appears set up to handle that kind of work. Its fire-safety page includes a Burn Permit Blank and an ADEQ Burn Permit among its downloadable forms, and it says the district enforces the International Fire Code 2018. If the delegation moves forward, residents may see a clearer local process for permit requests, enforcement and recordkeeping, instead of going through state-level channels for every burn request.

ADEQ posted the notice on June 9 and says written comments will be accepted from June 10 through July 10. The proposal is part of a broader round of delegation agreements that also affects fire agencies in Cochise, Coconino and Gila counties, but Quartzsite is the La Paz County district named in the notice. Documents are available through ADEQ’s notice page and at the agency’s Record Center.