4 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Santa Barbara County, California.
Verified from official government sources
In Santa Barbara County, residential open burning (yard-waste, brush, debris piles) is regulated jointly by the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD) Rule 401 burn-permit program and by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department under the locally adopted California Fire Code (County Code Chapter 15). Recreational fires (fire pits, chimineas, outdoor fireplaces, charcoal grills, propane patio heaters) are governed by California Fire Code Section 307 as locally amended: any permanent or portable fire pit, outdoor fireplace, barbecue, or grill must be at least 30 feet from any grass, grain, brush, or forested area; have an approved spark arrester, screen, or door over the firebox; be maintained in good repair; and be attended at all times. Ashes and coals from any recreational fire may NOT be deposited or dumped in High Fire Hazard Areas. CAL FIRE issues 'Permissive Burn Day' or 'No Burn Day' status daily during fire season, and discretionary fires are also subject to the SBCAPCD daily-burn-day determination.
All fireworks - including 'Safe and Sane' state-approved fireworks - are ILLEGAL in unincorporated Santa Barbara County and in the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Buellton, and Solvang. Possession, sale, or discharge of fireworks in those areas is a misdemeanor that can carry up to a $2,000 fine, plus the cost of any resulting wildfire suppression. 'Safe and Sane' fireworks (sold from licensed stands during a limited July window) are legal only inside the city limits of Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Guadalupe. Enforcement is led by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, CAL FIRE, and the Sheriff's Office, with joint patrols around July 4th and New Year's Eve.
Santa Barbara County is one of California's highest wildfire-risk counties. Every owner of a structure in a State Responsibility Area (SRA) or in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) must maintain 100 feet of defensible space around the structure under California Public Resources Code Section 4291 and the locally adopted Fire Code in County Code Chapter 15. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department's Defensible Space Inspection Program inspects parcels annually and, on slopes greater than 30 percent in High Fire Hazard Areas, may require clearance beyond 100 feet - up to 200 feet on 30-40 percent slopes and 250-300 feet on 41-60 percent slopes. AB 38 (effective July 1, 2021) requires a compliant defensible-space inspection at the time of sale of any home in a designated fire hazard severity zone.
Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 4291 - Defensible space requirements; State Responsibility Areas
A person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in the state responsibility area shall at all times do all of the following: (1) (A) Maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure, but not beyond the property line, except as provided in subparagraph (B). The amount of fuel modification necessary shall conside...
Most of unincorporated Santa Barbara County lies in CAL FIRE's State Responsibility Area (SRA) and is mapped as High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ). The Santa Ynez Mountains foothills, Montecito, Mission Canyon, Painted Cave, Hope Ranch, Refugio Canyon, Gaviota, the Santa Maria foothills, Tepusquet, Sisquoc, the Cuyama Valley, and the Santa Ynez Valley wildland-urban interface are all in High or Very High FHSZ areas. Designation triggers Public Resources Code Section 4291 defensible space (100 ft), California Building Code Chapter 7A ignition-resistant construction standards, AB 38 sale-time inspections, and County Code Chapter 15 vegetation-management requirements. Recent major fires include the 2009 Jesusita Fire, the 2016 Sherpa and Rey Fires, the 2017 Thomas Fire (the largest in modern California history at the time), and the 2017-18 storm/debris-flow disaster that killed 23 in Montecito.
Cal. Pub. Res. Code §§ 4201-4204; 14 CCR § 1280 - Fire Hazard Severity Zones (CAL FIRE Office of the State Fire Marshal)
The State Fire Marshal is mandated to classify lands within State Responsibility Areas into Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ). Fire Hazard Severity Zones fall into one of the following classifications: Moderate High Very High The California laws that require Fire Hazard Severity Zones include California Public Resources Code 4201-4204, California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 1280 and C...
1 cities in Santa Barbara County have their own fire regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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