Modoc County, CA Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Modoc County has no smoker-specific ordinance; charcoal, wood, pellet, and propane smokers are regulated as 'open-flame cooking devices' under the 2022 California Fire Code, adopted through Modoc County Code Chapter 15.01 (Ordinance No. 221-J, July 2024). California Fire Code Section 308.1.4 provides that charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices shall not be operated on combustible balconies or within 10 feet of combustible construction, and that LP-gas burners with a container water capacity greater than 2.5 pounds are likewise restricted; one- and two-family dwellings and sprinklered buildings are exempt. Because most smoking is done at single-family rural homes in unincorporated Modoc County, residents there can generally use a smoker on their own property, but multi-family residents must observe the clearance rule. The bigger concern in Modoc is wildfire: the county is high-desert sagebrush and forested Warner Mountain land at serious fire risk. A wood or charcoal smoker produces embers, so it should be operated on a non-combustible surface, kept well away from dry grass, sagebrush, fences, and structures, never left unattended, and shut down during red-flag warnings or local fire restrictions. CAL FIRE (Lassen-Modoc Unit) and the Modoc National Forest can impose seasonal fire restrictions that limit charcoal and wood-fired devices, especially on public land, so check current conditions during fire season. Anyone whose cooking fire escapes can be held criminally and civilly responsible for the resulting wildfire.