Merced, CA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Merced, 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
- Governing section
- Merced Municipal Code § 12.08.080
- Prohibited act
- Burning rags, paper, wood or rubbish on paved streets
- Rationale
- Prevents fire from igniting the asphalt paving
- Related rule
- Sec. 8.04.060 bars burning garbage on private premises
Summary
Merced Municipal Code Section 12.08.080 makes it unlawful to set fire to or burn rags, paper, wood, rubbish or any other combustible material on a paved street, alley, public place or sidewalk. The rule targets fires that could ignite the asphalt paving itself, and it sits alongside a separate ban on burying or burning garbage on private premises.
No person shall set fire to or burn, or cause to be set fire to or burned, any rags, paper, wood, rubbish or other combustible material upon any street, alley, public place or sidewalk paved with or constructed of asphaltum or any other combustible matter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 85 - 1-26).
Full Breakdown
08's list of street and sidewalk nuisances, and it is written narrowly around pavement: it bans setting fire to or burning rags, paper, wood, rubbish, or other combustible material specifically upon a street, alley, public place, or sidewalk that is paved with or built of asphaltum or other combustible matter, because an open flame on that surface can ignite the paving material itself. 080 does not reach. Neither section sets up a permit process for legitimate outdoor fires such as recreational campfires or agricultural burns; those are controlled instead through the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, which the city's own industrial performance standards for accessory waste burning point to by name when regulating uses in the industrial zoning districts.
080 sits in the nuisance chapter alongside the sidewalk obstruction and discharge rules, a paved-street fire can be treated as a public nuisance the city engineer or fire department can act on immediately, in addition to any citation issued under the chapter.
Violations & Fines
Burning combustible material on a paved street, alley, public place or sidewalk under Section 12.08.080 is treated as a nuisance under Chapter 12.08, distinct from the separate solid-waste prohibition on burying or burning garbage on private premises in Section 8.04.060. Because the paved-street rule sits in the nuisance chapter, the fire department or code enforcement can order the fire extinguished and cite the responsible person immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I burn trash in the street or alley in Merced?
Does Merced have a permit for backyard or agricultural burning?
Who enforces the paved-street burning ban in Merced?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Merced
How Merced compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·California rules heatmap·Compare Merced to another location·View the California fire regulations overview
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