Madera County, CA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Madera County, 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.
Key Facts
- Where it applies
- Bass Lake lakebed only
- Threshold
- Below the high water mark
- Exempt
- Boats, landowners on own land
- Required
- Posted warning signs at access points
- Violation
- Misdemeanor
Summary
Burning any material on the exposed lake bed at Bass Lake below the high water mark is illegal in unincorporated Madera County, a rule enforced with mandatory warning signage posted at every shoreline access point.
It is unlawful for any person to burn any material on the lake bed at Bass Lake below the high water mark. This prohibition does not apply to burning on boats on the water. This prohibition does not apply to a landowner burning upon the landowner's property, or to a person with express consent of the landowner in conjunction with property maintenance activities.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 52).
Full Breakdown
Madera County Code §9.32.015 bans burning any material on the lake bed at Bass Lake, the shoreline exposed below the high water mark, though it doesn't reach burning aboard boats on the water or a landowner burning on their own property (or with the landowner's consent for property maintenance). Section 9.32.016 requires the ban to be posted at every path, walkway, and lakeshore access point, on signs at least one square foot with two-inch letters, and the ban isn't enforceable unless those signs are up. This is narrower than a countywide burn ban, it applies only to the Bass Lake lakebed, one of the unincorporated communities the county code names directly.
Violations & Fines
Violation of the Bass Lake lakebed burning ban is a misdemeanor, as the required warning signage itself states, and is separately enforceable as a nuisance subject to abatement under Chapter 7.20.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to build a fire anywhere on Bass Lake's shoreline?
Does Madera County have a general open-burning ban outside Bass Lake?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Madera County
How Madera County compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·California rules heatmap·Compare Madera County to another location·View the California fire regulations overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.