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

Unincorporated Yuba County has no special ordinance singling out backyard smokers; they are governed by the same adopted California Fire Code provisions that cover other cooking devices. Because a smoker is used to cook food rather than to dispose of waste vegetation, it is a cooking device, not 'open burning,' and therefore does not require a Feather River AQMD or CAL FIRE burn permit. California Fire Code section 308 governs open-flame and solid-fuel cooking devices: charcoal and wood-fired units must not be operated on combustible balconies or within 10 feet of combustible construction at multi-family buildings, with exceptions for one- and two-family dwellings. Practical fire-safety rules apply: keep the smoker on a noncombustible surface, away from siding, eaves, fences, and dry vegetation; attend it while in use; and dispose of ashes and spent coals in a metal container, fully cooled, because hot ashes are a common wildfire ignition source. Smoke that drifts onto neighbors can be addressed as a public nuisance or under Feather River AQMD authority if it becomes a recurring air-quality problem, though normal occasional cooking smoke is not regulated like open burning. In the foothill State Responsibility Area, wood- and charcoal-fired smokers should be used with heightened caution during fire season and avoided during red-flag warnings, given the 2020 Bear Fire history and the area's High/Very High fire hazard.