Corona, CA Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

6 to Corona's fire code, covering outdoor fireplaces, fire pits, fire rings and similar devices at Group R (residential) occupancies; barbecues, grills and portable cooking-only devices are expressly excepted. Gas-fueled units (natural gas or LP, flame only, no wood) need Building Division approval and must sit at least 3 feet from combustible construction at R-3 single-family lots or 10 feet at other residential occupancies, measured from the atmospheric column above the device; a permanent, Building-Division-approved hood and vent can let combustibles encroach between the hood and vent opening.

Permanent wood-burning fireplaces must be built to California Building Code clearances with a firebox, attached chimney and spark arrester. Burning wood or solid fuel within 25 feet of any combustible structure is banned outright unless it's inside an approved permanent fireplace, though portable rings with a spark arrester can sit as close as 3 feet (R-3) or 15 feet (other R occupancies). Wood and solid-fuel burning is separately banned inside any fuel modification zone, fire hazard severity zone or Wildland-Urban Interface area, with narrow exceptions for permanent fireplaces outside a fuel modification zone or where the Fire Code Official finds no wildfire risk.

6 layers on a weather-based shutoff: outdoor wood fires are prohibited when sustained winds exceed 8 mph, relative humidity drops below 25%, a red flag condition is declared, or the Fire Code Official posts a prohibition notice at City Hall and online; any outdoor fire, regardless of fuel, is banned once sustained winds exceed 20 mph. 7 requires every outdoor fire to be attended by someone 21 or older with a portable extinguisher on hand until it is fully out, and bars flammable or combustible liquids other than approved charcoal starter.