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

Using an outdoor smoker—charcoal, pellet, or wood-fired—at a single-family home in unincorporated Lake County is permitted and is treated as a cooking activity rather than open burning. That means a smoker is not covered by the Lake County Air Quality Management District's May 1-November 1 ban on open green-waste burning. However, charcoal and wood-fired smokers produce open flame and embers, so the California Fire Code (adopted by Lake County through its Building Regulations) still applies. The code's recreational/cooking-fire provisions emphasize keeping fire well away from structures and combustible material, constant attendance while burning, and having extinguishing equipment such as a hose or water source available. At apartments and other multi-unit (Group R) buildings, the Fire Code generally restricts open-flame and charcoal cooking devices on combustible balconies and near combustible construction, with exceptions for one- and two-family dwellings. Smokers that run on propane fall under Fire Code Chapter 61 storage rules for LP-gas cylinders—no storage in basements, pits, or on roofs. Because most of Lake County is mapped as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone with a severe fire history, residents should operate wood and charcoal smokers within cleared defensible space, manage ash and embers carefully, and avoid use during red-flag warnings or declared critical fire conditions.