Chino Hills, CA Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Outdoor cooking with barbecues and grills is broadly permitted in Chino Hills. The California Fire Code's open-burning and recreational-fire rules (Section 307), enforced by the Chino Valley Independent Fire District, expressly exempt barbecues, grills, and portable devices intended solely for cooking — so a backyard BBQ is not treated as a regulated 'recreational fire.' That said, the Fire Code still expects fires and cooking appliances to be used safely and away from combustible structures, and it restricts solid-fuel burning (such as charcoal in some contexts) near structures and in wildfire areas. The propane cylinders that fuel gas grills fall under California Fire Code Chapter 61 (Liquefied Petroleum Gases): cylinders under 125-gallon water capacity — which includes standard 20-pound (about 5-gallon) barbecue tanks — are allowed at the home, kept outdoors, upright, away from building openings and ignition sources. Homeowners should not store spare full propane cylinders indoors, in garages used as living space, or near heat. Because Chino Hills includes hillside neighborhoods in and adjacent to Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, residents in those areas should be especially careful: keep grills away from dry brush and overhanging vegetation, never leave a lit grill unattended, and have water or an extinguisher nearby. On high-pollution winter days, the South Coast AQMD's Check Before You Burn no-burn alerts target wood-burning, not gas or charcoal cooking, but charcoal smoke can still be a neighbor nuisance.