Mission Viejo, CA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Sec. 6, Hazardous Conditions, to the city's adopted 2025 California Fire Code. It bars outdoor fires burning wood or other solid fuel whenever predicted sustained winds exceed 8 mph and relative humidity is below 25 percent, or a red flag condition has been declared, and also whenever the Fire Code Official has caused an official sign to be posted or made a public announcement halting such fires. A second, broader limit applies to every outdoor fire regardless of fuel type: none are permitted once predicted sustained winds exceed 20 mph, or whenever the Fire Code Official determines the fire presents a hazard.

This sits alongside Sec. 090's rubbish-disposal rule, which confines burning of rubbish, trash or combustible waste to an approved incinerator, and the renamed Section 307, "Open Burning, Recreational Fires, Fire Pits, Fire Rings, and Portable Outdoor Fireplaces," which channels permitted outdoor burning into the specific device categories the city separately regulates. The Orange County Fire Authority enforces the Fire Code under Sec. 020, and Sec. 030 ties violation penalties to the OCFA Prevention Field Services fee schedule, with each day a violation continues after notice a separate offense.

Sec. 040 makes it an infraction to permit a fire hazard, such as illegal open burning, to exist on premises under one's control, escalating to a misdemeanor for failing to immediately abate the hazard once ordered by the fire chief.