Palo Alto, CA Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Propane and natural-gas barbecue grills remain legal for backyard cooking in unincorporated Santa Clara County even during the seasonal CAL FIRE/county burn bans that prohibit open wood and charcoal fires. When the State and county banned all outdoor burning in past summers - no open fires, campfires, or charcoal fires - propane and gas fire pits and portable gas or pressurized-liquid-fuel stoves remained expressly allowed, which extends to propane and gas grills used responsibly. The Bay Area Air District's wood-smoke rule and Spare the Air alerts target wood and solid-fuel burning, not clean propane or natural gas, so gas grilling is not restricted on Spare the Air days. The Santa Clara County Fire Department's grilling safety guidance directs residents to place grills at least 10 feet from the house, use an approved starter fluid (never gasoline) when lighting a barbecue, and never add fuel to a fire after it has been started. Because so much unincorporated land is high-hazard wildland-urban interface, grills should be operated on a noncombustible surface clear of dry vegetation and overhanging branches, attended at all times, and kept away from the home and defensible-space zone. Small propane cylinders for grills generally fall below California Fire Code permit thresholds but must be stored outdoors, upright, and away from ignition sources, consistent with Fire Code Chapter 61 and NFPA 58.