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

Madera County has no dedicated ordinance regulating residential meat smokers, and using a backyard smoker for personal cooking is generally permitted. Two existing frameworks still apply. First, the California Fire Code adopted in county code Title 14, Division II, Chapter 14.35 treats wood- and charcoal-burning cooking fires like recreational fires: keep the smoker at least 25 feet from structures and combustible material where it functions as an open/recreational fire, attend it until the fire is out, and have a fire extinguisher or water source ready; a compact, enclosed manufactured smoker used at a one- or two-family dwelling is handled more like a grill, but the same clear-of-combustibles common sense applies. Second, because smokers burning wood or charcoal produce smoke, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District solid-fuel rules can apply; the District's residential wood-burning program (Rule 4901) declares no-burn days from November 1 through the end of February when burning solid fuel in residential devices is restricted, and operating a wood-burning device may be limited on those days. For commercial barbecue or smoker operations, additional air-district permitting can apply. In foothill State Responsibility Area properties, keep the smoker within maintained defensible space and observe CAL FIRE seasonal restrictions, since a wood- or charcoal-fueled smoker is a real ignition source on hot, dry, windy days.