Huntington Beach, CA Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

48 of the Huntington Beach Municipal Code governs cooking fires on City park land, not private yards. 145 designates Lake Park, Farquhar Park, Huntington Central Park, and Norma Brandel Gibbs Park as the City's overnight camping facilities, and anyone using them for camping must first get written permission from the Director of Community and Library Services and pay the camping fee set by City Council resolution. 120(F)'s park-wide fire rule, a fire may only be lit in a City-provided fire ring or barbecue, a stove, a barbecue grill, a fire circle, or a self-contained barbecue or portable stove approved by the Director.

145(E) sets the hardware standard for that last category: the heat source cannot be charcoal-based, and the unit's heat source must sit at least 18 inches above the ground. Disposable heating materials may only be dumped inside a City fire ring, never elsewhere in the park. 145(F) tightens the rule further during red-flag fire-weather declarations by any state, local, or federal fire authority: open flames in any fire ring or City barbecue are shut off entirely, and only self-contained barbecues or portable stoves burning propane, natural gas, alcohol, isobutane, butane, or similar canister fuel may still operate. A permit from the Director can authorize fires outside these defaults. Enforcement runs through the Community and Library Services Department and Park Rangers.