Thousand Oaks, CA Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

There is no Thousand Oaks-specific smoker or wood-fired oven ordinance. Compliance is built up from layered standards: (1) TOMC Chapter 5-21 noise rules — smoker motors, drum-style barrel smokers, or amplified sound at outdoor cookouts must not be audible at a distance exceeding 50 feet from the property line during 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. in residential zones (Sec. 5-21.01–03); (2) TOMC Title 8 / California Fire Code §308 — the device must be operated away from combustible construction and never inside a garage, under a covered overhang, or with hot ashes left unattended; (3) Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) Rule 56 and the County's burn-day system restrict large open-flame wood fires on no-burn days, though residential cooking fires using small amounts of clean dry wood for food preparation are typically exempt; (4) wildfire context — because much of Thousand Oaks sits in a High or Very-High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, Ventura County Fire may further restrict outdoor wood fires during red-flag warnings. Persistent smoke drifting into neighbors can also be pursued as a public nuisance under TOMC general nuisance provisions or in civil court under California Civil Code §3479.