Tustin, CA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Tustin is fully urbanized and lies within the South Coast Air Basin, where the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) regulates open burning under Rule 444 (Open Burning). Rule 444 covers categories such as agricultural burning, tumbleweed disposal, prescribed burning, fire-training, and residential burning, and it requires advance authorization (a burn authorization number) for permitted burn types. There is no provision for residents to routinely burn household trash, leaves, or yard clippings; that kind of disposal burning is not allowed and should go to green-waste and refuse collection instead. Importantly, Rule 444 exempts "recreational or ceremonial fires" and fires used for warming food or generating warmth at a social gathering, so a backyard campfire-style recreational fire or a barbecue is governed by fire-code and recreational-fire rules rather than by the open-burn prohibition. On top of the air-district rules, the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) enforces the California Fire Code, under which open burning for purposes like land clearing requires a permit from the fire code official and may also need air-quality approval (CFC Sections 307.2 and 307.2.1). Combined, these rules mean an ordinary Tustin homeowner cannot legally burn waste vegetation or refuse in the backyard. Residents with questions on what is allowed can contact the South Coast AQMD burn line or OCFA before lighting any outdoor fire.