Perris, CA Fire Regulations: Backyard Fires (2026)

Perris distinguishes between a permitted recreational fire and prohibited open burning. Through Title 20 of the Perris Municipal Code, the city adopts the California Fire Code, enforced by CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire. Under California Fire Code Chapter 3, a recreational fire is an outdoor fire burning clean wood, charcoal or approved fuel with a fuel area no larger than three feet in diameter and two feet in height, used for pleasure, cooking or warmth. Such fires must not be conducted within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material (Section 307.4.2), and approved portable outdoor fireplaces must stay 15 feet away, with an exception for one- and two-family dwellings (Section 307.4.3). The fire must be constantly attended until fully extinguished, with a garden hose, extinguisher or other approved means of extinguishment ready (Section 307.5). Using a backyard fire to dispose of leaves, brush, trash or construction debris is not a recreational fire — it is open burning, which requires a permit and is effectively barred in this urban valley. Because Perris is in the South Coast Air Basin, the South Coast Air Quality Management District declares mandatory no-burn days when particulate pollution is high, on which wood burning is prohibited regardless of the Fire Code. Embers and drifting wood smoke that reach neighbors can be addressed under the air district's nuisance rules, and the fire code official may order any hazardous fire extinguished (Section 307.3).