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

Imperial County has no ordinance specifically regulating backyard smokers, so a wood, pellet, charcoal or propane smoker used for cooking is treated like any other cooking appliance under the California Fire Code enforced by the Imperial County Fire Department. Because a smoker burns clean fuel to cook food rather than to dispose of waste, it does NOT require an ICAPCD burn authorization or a Burn Day; the air district's "all burning needs prior authorization" rule targets open burning of green waste, trash and agricultural material, not cooking. The same Fire Code cooking-fire principles apply: keep the smoker a safe distance from structures (the Fire Code requires 15 feet for grills and barbecue pits at multi-family properties), keep it attended while operating, and have a means of extinguishment on hand. Smokers run for many hours and produce continuous low-level smoke, so the main practical limit is nuisance: under Imperial County's nuisance ordinance (County Code Title 9, Division 13), smoke or odor that is injurious to health or that unreasonably interferes with a neighbor's comfortable use of property can be declared a public nuisance and abated, though ordinary, occasional barbecue smoke would not normally rise to that level. Given the county's very low wildfire risk, there is no seasonal ban on smokers, but operators should keep dry vegetation cleared and avoid use in high winds.