Citrus County, FL Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

The exception lives in Sec. 46-76 of Chapter 46, Article III, the same Emergency Drought Condition Fire Hazard Ordinance that bans open burning and fireworks discharge in the unincorporated county (Sec. 46-72). Subsection (b) permits residential outdoor cooking as long as it happens on "a suitable piece of equipment designed to contain the fire, flame and heat generated thereby," which covers enclosed smokers, grills and similar contained cooking devices rather than open pits or bare-ground fires. Subsection (c) extends the same allowance to public or private places that have facilities specifically designed for outdoor cooking, such as designated cookout areas at parks.

Because these are exceptions to Sec. 46-74's broader ban on open burning and Sec. 46-75's fireworks and flare restrictions, cooking equipment that does not contain the fire, flame and heat, such as an open bonfire-style cooking pit, falls back under the general open-burning prohibition and would need Division of Forestry authorization instead. The exception does not require a separate county permit for ordinary residential grilling or smoking; it is self-executing so long as the equipment meets the containment standard.