8 rules for unincorporated Imperial County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Imperial County has no fireworks-style ordinance specific to backyard fire pits, so recreational fires follow the California Fire Code (Section 307) and ICAPCD air rules. Recreational fires must stay 25 feet from structures, be constantly attended, and any open burning of waste needs prior authorization from the Air Pollution Control District.
In unincorporated Imperial County all fireworks are banned, including state-approved "safe and sane" fireworks. Chapter 8.24 of the County Code of Ordinances prohibits possession, sale and use, and the Imperial County Fire Department enforces it. "Safe and sane" fireworks are legal only inside the seven incorporated cities.
Imperial County is desert and irrigated farmland with very little wildland brush, so there is no county-wide 100-foot defensible-space mandate. The Imperial County Fire Department abates overgrown weeds and rubbish as a fire hazard and public nuisance through a notice-and-abatement process, and state defensible space (PRC 4291) applies only on the limited State Responsibility Area land.
All outdoor burning in Imperial County must have prior authorization from the Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD). Residential green-waste burning is allowed only outside cities and townships, only on declared Burn Days, and only for vegetation grown on that property. Agricultural burning is permitted under ICAPCD Rule 701.
Imperial County has among the lowest wildfire hazard in California. CAL FIRE's 2022 mapping shows only about 1,780 acres of Moderate Fire Hazard Severity Zone in the State Responsibility Area and zero acres of High or Very High zones. Most of the county is irrigated farmland and desert in the Local Responsibility Area.
Imperial County follows California state smoke-alarm and carbon-monoxide requirements rather than a unique county ordinance. State law requires smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every story, plus carbon-monoxide alarms in dwellings with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages.
Backyard fires in unincorporated Imperial County split into two categories: clean wood/charcoal recreational fires follow the California Fire Code, while burning yard waste or trash is open burning that requires prior ICAPCD authorization. There is no separate county backyard-fire ordinance; recreational fires must stay 25 feet from structures and be attended.
Propane (LPG) storage in unincorporated Imperial County is governed by the California Fire Code and NFPA 58 enforced by the Imperial County Fire Department, not by a separate county propane ordinance. Tank installations are permitted and inspected, and on the limited fire-hazard land state law calls for 10 feet of clearance around LPG tanks.
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