Scottsdale, AZ Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Fire Code Appendix O (2021 IFC + Scottsdale Amendments)
- Enforcement
- Fire code official closes/posts areas
- Spark arrester trigger distance
- within 200 feet of hazardous fire area
- Spark arrester mesh limit
- openings not exceeding 1/2 inch
- Firearms/rockets/tracers
- prohibited outright, no permit exception
- Default penalty
- Class 1 misdemeanor, Scottsdale Code § 1-8
Summary
Scottsdale's Fire Code designates 'hazardous fire areas' under Appendix O, where the fire code official can close land to entry, post warning signs, and require permits before anyone sets off explosives, smokes bees, or runs an open-flame device. Grass-, grain-, brush-, and forest-covered land in these zones carries extra fire-prevention rules layered on top of the 2021 International Fire Code Scottsdale otherwise adopted in Chapter 36.
O101.1 Scope. The unrestricted use of grass-, grain-, brush- or forest-covered land in hazardous fire areas is a potential menace to life and property from fire and resulting erosion. Safeguards to prevent the occurrence of fire and provide adequate fire-protection facilities to control the spread of fire which might be caused by recreational, residential, commercial, industrial, or other activities conducted in hazardous fire areas shall be in accordance with Appendix O. ... O104.1 Restricted entry. Fire code official shall determine and publicly announce when hazardous fire areas shall be closed to entry and when such areas shall again be opened to entry.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
Appendix O, added by the 'Scottsdale Amendments' to the 2021 International Fire Code, governs hazardous fire areas citywide. S. Forest Service personnel. 3, again subject only to the owner/guest and public-officer exceptions. 1 requires any chimney serving a fireplace, barbecue, incinerator, or heating appliance within 200 feet of a hazardous fire area to carry a spark arrester of heavy wire mesh or noncombustible material with openings no larger than one-half inch. 1 bars firing or projecting tracer bullets, tracer charges, firearms, rockets, model planes, gliders, or engine-powered balloons into or across a hazardous fire area outright, permit or not. 1 exempts only habited premises or campsites at least 30 feet from grass, grain, brush, or forest cover.
Violations & Fines
Entering or remaining in a hazardous fire area that has been closed and posted under Section O105.3 is a chargeable trespass. Firing tracer ammunition, rockets, or model aircraft into a hazardous fire area under Section O108.1, or running explosives, apiary smoke, or open-flame devices there without a fire code official permit, also violates Appendix O. Because Appendix O carries no separate fine schedule, Scottsdale Code § 1-8 makes any such Fire Code violation a Class 1 misdemeanor, with each day it continues a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a hazardous fire area in Scottsdale?
Can the city close a hazardous fire area to the public?
Do I need a spark arrester near a hazardous fire area?
What happens if I fire a gun or rocket into one of these zones?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Scottsdale
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Wildfire Zones in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle wildfire zones.