Elk Grove, CA Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

059 of the park regulations chapter draws a clear line between everyday grilling and open fires: without a permit issued by the Director, no person may ignite, maintain, or use any fire anywhere in a park facility except in a barbecue cooker or other cooking device the Director has authorized for that purpose. In practice, that means using a park's fixed barbecue grills or fire rings that the city has designated for cooking does not require a separate permit, but any other open flame, such as a campfire, bonfire, or portable fire pit not on the Director's approved-device list, does.

The section separately bars igniting or maintaining a fire made of materials dumped in a trash can, box, trench, pit, or other receptacle kept for garbage disposal or incineration, closing off using park trash cans as makeshift burn barrels. 056, reinforces the boundary from the other direction: it specifies that an incinerator, stove, fire ring, barbecue, or other device used to contain fires or for cooking is not a proper trash receptacle, so coals, ash, and food waste from a barbecue cannot simply be dumped and left in the fire device itself. 030, and the Director or a Park Ranger can order an unattended or unauthorized fire extinguished and eject the responsible party from the facility.