1. A.

   1. 1. The provisions of this section apply to prescribed burning.
   2. 2. Any owner wishing to set fire to his or her land in order to conduct a prescribed burning shall comply with the provisions of this section.
2. B. 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. 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 burning.
3. 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 burning 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.

4. D. Any person wishing to conduct a prescribed burn shall complete this form, distributed by the State Department of Agriculture, which shall be in substantially the following form:

   PRESCRIBED BURNING NOTIFICATION PLAN

   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:

   ______________________________________________________________

   ______________________________________________________________

   ______________________________________________________________

   ______________________________________________________________

   
   You need to file the original copy of the form with the rural fire department nearest to the land to be burned. If you are conducting a prescribed burn within a protection area, you also need to file a copy of the notification plan 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 burning notification plan that the prescribed burn will be conducted.
   
   2. Within a protection area, the owner of land to burned shall also, within the time period required by Section 16-28 of Title 2 of the Oklahoma Statutes, notify the local office or local representative of the Forestry Division receiving a copy of the prescribed burning notification plan.
   
   F. Prescribed burning 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 naturally occurring 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 burning 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 his or her land, 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.

Laws 2001, HB 1633, c. 208, § 5, emerg. eff. May 14, 2001.