Chimineas, portable fire bowls, and barbecues burning natural gas, propane, charcoal, or untreated wood for cooking or warmth are exempt from SCAQMD's open-burning ban in Menifee, but California Fire Code attendance and placement rules apply and waste burning is always illegal.
South Coast AQMD Rule 444(d)(6) exempts from its open-burning prohibitions both recreational or ceremonial fires and open burning of natural gas, propane, untreated wood, or charcoal for preparing or warming food or generating warmth at a social gathering, which is what keeps ordinary Menifee backyard barbecues, chimineas, and portable fire bowls legal. Safety rules still come from the California Fire Code adopted by Menifee Municipal Code Section 8.20.010: fires must be constantly attended by someone knowledgeable in fire-extinguishing equipment, with buckets, shovels, a garden hose, or a water-type extinguisher readily available (CFC 307.5), and recreational fires must stay at least 25 feet from structures and combustible material (CFC 307.4.2). What may never be burned is household waste or cleared vegetation, which Rule 444(d)(3) prohibits as residential burning. During winter, SCAQMD's Check Before You Burn program issues mandatory no-burn alerts for residential wood burning; residents can check the no-burn alert map at aqmd.gov or call 866-966-3293 before lighting a wood fire.
Unattended, oversized, or poorly placed fires violate the California Fire Code and can be ordered extinguished by the Menifee Fire Department; burning trash or vegetation is illegal residential burning subject to SCAQMD penalties, and wood fires lit during a mandatory no-burn alert can also draw air-district enforcement.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Menifee, CA
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Menifee, CA
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Menifee, CA
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Menifee, CA
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Menifee, CA
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