Fire Regulations in Madera County, CA (2026)
5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Madera County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Fire Pits & Backyard Fires
Short-term rentals in unincorporated Madera County cannot have open wood-burning fire pits, bonfires, or campfires; only rental-provided propane or gas pits with small tanks, set ten feet from any structure, are allowed.
Madera County STR Fire Pit Rules
Significant RestrictionsMadera County Code § 9.32.100(B)
No open wood burning fire pits, bonfires, or campfires are permitted at short-term rentals. Natural gas/propane burning fireplaces and fire pits with twenty-pound or smaller tanks provided by the short-term rental are allowed outside provided the device is at least ten feet from any structure and/or flammable materials. Guests shall not bring any personal fireplaces or firepits, whether wood or...
Fireworks
Madera County bans the sale of dangerous fireworks outright and allows safe-and-sane fireworks sales only to eligible nonprofit organizations that hold a Fire Chief permit. Discharge is confined to June 28 through July 5, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., and is banned entirely within the county's State Responsibility Area foothill and mountain fire zone. Violators face escalating fines up to $10,000 per occurrence.
Madera County Fireworks Sale and Discharge Rules
Significant RestrictionsMadera County Code §§ 9.36.020, 9.36.120, 9.36.140
A.It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale any dangerous fireworks in the County.B.It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale any safe and sane fireworks in the County without first obtaining a permit therefor. [...] D.It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, give away, have in his or her possession, fire, set off, discharge, or use, or caus...
Brush Clearance
Unincorporated Madera County law requires anyone who owns, occupies, or controls a building outside any incorporated city or town to maintain a fire protection break at least twenty feet wide around it. Madera County Code § 9.32.070 has stood since a 1918 ordinance and sits inside Chapter 9.32's broader fire-prevention rules, which set separate, narrower fire-break widths for cropland and wider ones for warehouses.
Madera County Fire Break Requirement For Buildings
Some RestrictionsMadera County Code §§ 9.32.070, 9.32.110
Every person, firm, corporation, copartnership, district, or association of persons whatsoever, being in possession of, occupying, owning in whole or in part or having any interest in or control of any building in the county, outside any incorporated city or town, shall maintain an effective fire protection or fire break around said building of at least twenty feet in width. ... The penalty for...
Outdoor Burning
Burning any material on the exposed lake bed at Bass Lake below the high water mark is illegal in unincorporated Madera County, a rule enforced with mandatory warning signage posted at every shoreline access point.
Madera County Bass Lake Burning Ban
Heavy RestrictionsMadera County Code § 9.32.015
It is unlawful for any person to burn any material on the lake bed at Bass Lake below the high water mark. This prohibition does not apply to burning on boats on the water. This prohibition does not apply to a landowner burning upon the landowner's property, or to a person with express consent of the landowner in conjunction with property maintenance activities.
Wildfire Zones
Parcels in Madera County's state responsibility area, the foothill and mountain land north and east of the Madera Canal, must meet state fire-safe building setbacks and maintain defensible space.
Madera County SRA Wildfire Setbacks
Significant RestrictionsMadera County Code § 18.98.010(C)
All parcels one acre and larger, located in state responsibility fire protection areas (SRA), shall comply with the setback requirements of State of California Public Resources Code 4290, Section 1276.01(A) for building and accessory structure setbacks from property lines and/or center of the road [PCR 4290, Section 1276.01(A)]. The fire department may grant an exception to setbacks for fire sa...
Fire Regulations by City in Madera County
1 cities in Madera County have their own fire regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
All Madera County ordinances
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