Anchorage, AK Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

The Anchorage Fire Department interprets IFC §308.1.4 to cover all open-flame and ember-producing cooking devices, including: traditional charcoal smokers (offset, vertical, bullet), wood-fired smokers, pellet smokers (which ignite wood pellets with an electric heating element but produce open embers), kamado-style ceramic smokers (Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe), and any solid-fuel cooking appliance. These are subject to the same multi-family prohibition as propane and charcoal grills: not permitted on combustible balconies/decks or within 10 feet of combustible construction in buildings of 3+ dwelling units. Exceptions parallel those for grills: sprinklered structures, single-family and duplex dwellings, and listed electric smokers. At single-family residences, smokers are unrestricted by city code. Smoke nuisance: AMC Title 15 Chapter 15.20 (Public Nuisances) provides recourse if smoker operation creates persistent nuisance affecting neighbors — typical complaints involve overnight low-and-slow cooks producing visible smoke crossing property lines. Air quality: the Department of Health and Human Services administers PM2.5 monitoring under federal Clean Air Act delegation; residential smoker operation is generally not a regulatory air-quality concern but can trigger neighbor complaints. Anchorage's winter inversion conditions (Eagle River Valley, Hillside) can trap smoke at ground level Nov-February — operating a smoker during inversions can produce stronger neighborhood impacts. Wildland fire risk: during high fire-danger periods declared by the Alaska Division of Forestry, the Anchorage Fire Department may issue local restrictions affecting open-fire cooking; contained pellet/electric smokers are typically still allowed but check current restrictions on muni.org during summer fire season.