Petaluma, CA Fire Regulations: Fire Pit Rules (2026)

Sonoma County Code Chapter 13 (the County Fire Safety Ordinance, last comprehensively revised by Ordinance 6396 in 2022) adopts the California Fire Code and California Building Code Chapter 7A as the baseline for unincorporated areas. Under California Fire Code Section 307 (as adopted locally), 'recreational fires' are defined as outdoor fires not contained in an incinerator, with a total fuel area no greater than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height, burned for pleasure, ceremonial, cooking, or similar purposes. Such fires must be at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material; portable outdoor fireplaces (chimineas, manufactured fire pits) may be located 15 feet from a structure. Fires must be constantly attended by a responsible adult with a fire extinguisher, water hose, or shovel and dirt available. In Sonoma County, recreational wood/charcoal burning also requires compliance with Chapter 13's open-burning provisions and, when CAL FIRE has declared fire season open (typically May through the first significant rains), a CAL FIRE burn permit. The Fire Marshal may, and routinely does, suspend all open burning during periods of elevated fire weather, Red Flag warnings, or PSPS events. Natural-gas and propane patio heaters and fire features installed per manufacturer listing remain allowed during burn suspensions because they do not produce flying embers. Within incorporated cities (Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Cotati, Cloverdale, Rohnert Park, Windsor) local fire-department rules add further restrictions, and several cities prohibit any wood-burning recreational fire outright.