Fire pit rules in Chico, CA — also called outdoor burning, recreational fire, or open flame ordinances — cover fuel types, clearances, and when burning is allowed.
Chico Municipal Code Chapter 9.35 (Outdoor Warming Appliances with Open Flame) restricts where residents may operate fire pits, chimineas and similar open-flame warming devices. CMC 9.35.020 limits use to private property or to a city park where allowed under CMC 12.18.230. Use on public sidewalks, streets, alleys, open spaces, greenways and non-designated park areas is prohibited. The ordinance, adopted to mitigate fire risk in this WUI-adjacent community (10 miles from the 2018 Camp Fire burn scar), targets unattended or unauthorized open flames; cooking devices such as barbecues remain permitted under the exemptions in CMC 16R.42.070.
CMC 9.35.020 — 'The use of outdoor warming appliances shall be limited to private property or in a city park as allowed under section 12.18.230.' CMC 16R.42.070 lists exempt devices that may be used citywide if operated per the California Fire Code: matches and lighters; indoor and outdoor fireplaces; cooking devices including indoor and outdoor barbecues; furnaces and heating devices using natural gas, LP-gas or wood for residential purposes; sewer-plant gas; and tar pots for roofing/construction. On private property no permit is required for compliant outdoor warming appliances or barbecues, but the device must remain attended and must not create a fire or smoke nuisance. Use in any public right-of-way, on city-owned property, in greenways or in undesignated park areas is prohibited. CAL FIRE PRC §4291 defensible-space rules apply on parcels in or near the LRA Very-High Fire Hazard Severity Zone east of town (Skyway/Forest Ranch fringe), and any open flame on those parcels must keep 10 ft of cleared ground per CFC Ch. 49.
Code Enforcement (530-879-6330) and Chico FD respond to complaints. Violations of CMC 9.35 are administrative infractions enforced under CMC Title 1 — first notice + abatement; continuing violations are misdemeanors under CMC 1.16. Unattended open flame that escapes can trigger PRC §4421/4423 reckless-burning liability and full cost-recovery for suppression.
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