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

060 makes it unlawful to burn, ignite or otherwise set fire to any material in a fire ring or fire pit except "natural wood, lighter fluid, fire log(s), or charcoal," and even those approved fuels may only be burned in a ring or pit the City Manager has specifically designated for that purpose. The City Manager sets which fuel may be burned at which designated rings in accordance with the site's Coastal Development Permit, meaning the allowed fuel can differ block by block along the beach depending on what the Coastal Commission authorized for that stretch.

The ordinance defines its terms precisely: "natural wood" is the fibrous xylem of a tree's stems, branches or roots and excludes any processed or treated material such as wooden pallets, books, newspapers, furniture or construction lumber; a "fire log" is a manufactured log made of sawdust, sawdust and paraffin, or waste fiber from the oil palm; and "charcoal" is the carbon residue left when wood or other organic matter is heated without air. Because the section only authorizes burning fuel in a ring the City Manager has designated, bringing a portable fire pit, hibachi or improvised fire onto an undesignated stretch of beach, or burning pallets, furniture or trash in an approved ring, both fall outside what the ordinance permits. 050), reflecting the same underlying concern with what materials end up burned or discarded on Newport's beaches.