Hemet, CA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Hemet, 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
- Ban scope
- burning solid waste anywhere in city
- Only exception
- permitted incinerator/transformation facility
- Extra requirement
- must meet air-agency permit rules
- Misdemeanor penalty
- up to $1,000 fine, 6 months, or both
- Infraction alternative
- $100/$200/$500 escalating fines
Summary
Hemet City Code § 62-64 bans burning solid waste anywhere in the city outside of an approved incinerator or transformation facility that holds a permit and meets South Coast Air Quality Management District rules. There's no backyard burn-barrel or debris-pile exception: any open burning of solid waste is a misdemeanor enforceable under Chapter 62's citywide penalty schedule.
Sec. 62-64. - Solid waste burning. No person shall burn any solid waste within the city, except in an approved incinerator or transformation facility or other device for which a permit has been issued, and which complies with all applicable permit and other regulations of air pollution control authorities, and provided any such act of burning in all respects complies with all other laws, rules and regulations. ... Sec. 62-81. - Violation. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, violations of this chapter are punishable as set out in section 1-8 of this Code. Sec. 62-82. - Misdemeanor. Violation of this chapter shall be a misdemeanor.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 69 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Section 62-64 sits in Chapter 62's Article VI, 'Prohibited Acts,' alongside the city's other flat bans on mishandling solid waste. It says no person shall burn any solid waste within the city except in an approved incinerator or transformation facility, or another device for which a permit has been issued, and only if that burning complies with all applicable permit and other regulations of air pollution control authorities, and with every other applicable law. In practice that leaves no exception for a resident burning yard debris, packaging, or household trash in a barrel or open pile: without a permitted incinerator or transformation facility, any burning of solid waste is prohibited outright.
Enforcement runs through section 62-80, which authorizes any city code enforcement officer, under Penal Code Section 836.5, to enforce Chapter 62 alongside the state litter and illegal-dumping statutes in Penal Code Sections 374, 374a, 374.2, 374.3, 374.4, 374d, and 374.7. The city can use an administrative citation, a criminal citation, a nuisance abatement action, or a civil action, or any combination, to make someone stop. Section 62-81 ties a Chapter 62 violation to the citywide penalty schedule in section 1-8, and section 62-82 independently declares any violation of the chapter a misdemeanor.
Violations & Fines
Burning solid waste outside an approved, permitted facility is a misdemeanor under sections 62-64 and 62-82, punishable under section 1-8(f) by a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. Because Chapter 62 violations can also be charged as infractions at the city attorney's discretion, a first infraction tops out at a $100 fine, rising to $200 for a second violation of the same section within a year and $500 for each one after that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I burn yard waste or trash in my backyard in Hemet?
Who enforces Hemet's burning ban and how?
Does Hemet's burning ban cover campfires or agricultural burning?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hemet
How Hemet compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·California rules heatmap·Compare Hemet to another location·View the California fire regulations overview
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Outdoor Burning in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle outdoor burning.