Porterville, CA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 12-1.8 of the Porterville Municipal Code, Open Burning, Recreational Fires, and Portable Outdoor Fireplaces, ties all outdoor burning in the city to two outside authorities rather than setting its own burn-day calendar. Subsection A requires open burning, recreational fires, and portable outdoor fireplaces to comply with the California Fire Code, and Subsection B makes clear that nothing in the article exempts a person from the separate requirements of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD), which regulates smoke and particulate impacts across the valley.

The only affirmative local burning path the section describes is for tumbleweeds: landowners must first use best management practices or reasonable alternatives to dispose of tumbleweeds, per SJVAPCD guidance, and a burn permit for tumbleweeds can be issued only once the district determines that open burning is the only available disposal method for the site and that the resulting smoke will not affect a smoke-sensitive area or create a nuisance. Even with a district-issued tumbleweed permit, the permittee must comply with all of the district's conditions and must notify the City of Porterville Fire Department before burning, giving the department the chance to track active burns within city limits.

Because the SJVAPCD, not the city, issues the permit and sets the qualifying conditions, a property owner seeking to burn tumbleweeds or other yard material has to apply to the district first; the city's role is limited to the pre-burn notice to the Fire Department and to enforcing the chapter once a burn is underway.