Bernalillo County, NM Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- Bernalillo County Fire Prevention Bureau
- Gas/propane grills
- Excluded from open-burning definition
- Permit needed for gas grills
- None under Fire Code § 307.2
- Open burning pile cap
- 6 ft x 6 ft x 6 ft
- Penalty
- Up to $300 fine or 90 days jail
Summary
Bernalillo County's fire code amendment excludes propane, natural gas and white-gas outdoor grills from the definition of regulated open burning, so residents of the unincorporated county can run a gas grill on a patio or balcony without an open-burning permit. Wood and charcoal devices are not covered by the exemption and stay subject to the county's burn-pile limits.
OPEN BURNING. The burning of materials wherein products of combustion are emitted directly into the ambient air without passing through a stack or chimney from an enclosed chamber. Open burning does not include smudge pots and similar devices associated with safety or occupational uses typically considered open flames, outdoor grills utilizing propane, natural gas, white gas or similar. For the purpose of this definition, a chamber shall be regarded as enclosed when, during the time combustion occurs, only apertures, ducts, stacks, flues or chimneys necessary to provide combustion air and permit the escape of exhaust gas are open. Open burning shall be limited to 6 ft x 6 ft x 6 ft piles.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 92).
Full Breakdown
The Bernalillo County Commission adopted the 2021 International Fire Code by Ordinance No. 2020-14 and amended it by Ordinance No. 2022-4, codified at Bernalillo County Code § 34-76. Among the changes, the county rewrote the Fire Code's Chapter 2 definition of "Open Burning" to carve out gas-fueled cooking equipment: the amended definition covers only combustion where products of combustion are emitted directly into the air without passing through a stack or chimney, and it expressly states that outdoor grills utilizing propane, natural gas, white gas or similar fuel do not count as open burning.
2 of the Fire Code otherwise requires. Actual open burning that is regulated, such as burning brush, debris or a bonfire, remains capped at piles no larger than 6 feet by 6 feet by 6 feet under the same amended definition. The exemption covers only the fuel source; it does not override separate placement rules for LP-gas cylinders or the spark-arrester requirements that apply to wood-burning barbecues and chimneys inside the county's designated Wildland-Urban Interface areas east of Tramway Boulevard and in the East Mountains.
The Bernalillo County Fire Prevention Bureau, under the Fire Marshal's Office established in Section 34-75, administers and enforces the fire code, including this definition, and issues any burn permits still required for non-exempt open burning.
Violations & Fines
Anyone who violates the fire code provisions adopted at § 34-76, including the open-burning definition, is guilty of a misdemeanor under § 34-79, punishable by a fine of up to $300.00, up to 90 days in jail, or both. Each ten-day period a prohibited condition continues counts as a separate offense, and the Fire Code Official can still order removal or correction of a hazardous grill or burn setup regardless of any fine paid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to use a propane grill in unincorporated Bernalillo County?
Does the exemption cover charcoal or wood pellet grills?
What happens if my grill or burn setup violates the fire code?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bernalillo County
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