The Grove Got Its Fire Permit. Two New Conditions.
MONTE RIO, Calif. — The annual open-flame permit for the Monte Rio encampment was granted on 4 August.
It carries two conditions that were not in last year's document: a wet line around any open flame after 21:00, and a standby engine on site throughout.
The county fire marshal's office says both are standard for the current drought classification and apply to fourteen other permitted sites this season. We asked for the list of fourteen and were given it. It includes two campgrounds and a vineyard.
This newspaper checks that register every August. Most years the item is one sentence. We print it anyway, because a register nobody reads is a register that stops being accurate.
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Sources & Method
A public permit register, read the day it was updated, and one telephone call to the office that issued it.
Who we spoke to
- Sonoma County permit register, Public record. Inspected online and in person August 2026
- County fire marshal's office, Written questions. Written response 7 August 2026 Explained both new conditions as standard for the current drought classification.
What we could not confirm
- Nothing. Every fact in this item is on a public permit register.
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