Outdoor burning rules in Ontario, CA — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Open burning to dispose of residential waste, leaves, brush, or trash is prohibited in Ontario. The city is in the South Coast Air Quality Management District, whose Rule 444 (Open Burning) expressly prohibits residential burning, and the Ontario Fire Prevention Bureau enforces the 2022 California Fire Code open-burning rules.
Ontario is within the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). SCAQMD Rule 444 (Open Burning), most recently amended July 12, 2013, governs all open burning in the district and lists 'residential burning' among the activities a person is expressly prohibited from conducting. Rule 444 defines residential burning as 'open burning for the purposes of disposing of combustible or flammable solid waste...from a specific residence on its premises.' This means burning household trash, yard waste, leaves, or land-clearing debris in the backyard is not allowed - residents must use green-waste and trash collection instead. The Ontario Fire Prevention Bureau also enforces the 2022 California Fire Code (CFC), adopted by the Ontario Municipal Code, under which any open burning must be conducted and approved per CFC Section 307, and the fire code official may order open burning extinguished when it creates a hazard. Recreational fires and barbecues are treated separately (see the backyard-fires and fire-pit-rules subcategories).
Residential open burning is a violation of SCAQMD Rule 444 and the adopted California Fire Code, subject to SCAQMD enforcement and administrative penalties, plus potential California Fire Code citations and fire-department cost recovery for any response. The fire code official is authorized to order extinguishment of any non-compliant open burning.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Ontario, CA
Ontario Municipal Code section 5-29.14 prohibits operating any motor vehicle in a condition that creates excessive, impulsive or intrusive noise, including e...
Ontario, CA
Ontario Municipal Code section 5-29.08 limits loud real-property maintenance to 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.; chainsaws, mulching machines and gas/electric blowers ar...
Ontario, CA
Outdoor music is regulated under OMC Title 5 Chapter 29 and the special-event permit process. Venues and events with amplified sound need a city permit; resi...
Ontario, CA
Ontario Municipal Code Sec. 4-6.1305 authorizes the City to establish preferential permit-parking zones on residential streets, allowing parking to be restri...
Ontario, CA
Ontario Municipal Code Sec. 4-13.03 prohibits parking vehicles or storing trailers, campers, boats, and similar equipment on lawns, landscaped areas, or othe...
Ontario, CA
Ontario prohibits razor wire on any wall or fence citywide, and bans barbed wire and electrified fences in residential, commercial, and residential mixed-use...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in San Bernardino County.
See how other cities in San Bernardino County handle outdoor burning.
See how Ontario's outdoor burning rules stack up against other locations.
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