Twin Falls County, ID Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Section 4-4-4 of the burning regulations chapter provides that nothing in the chapter prohibits or amends existing law as to the burning of agricultural fields, ditch banks, weeds, or ceremonial fires, and it separately states the chapter does not prohibit the use of open fires for the purposes of preparing food for human consumption, alongside personal recreational fires kept in a confined area. That protection is not unconditional, though: section 4-4-5 imposes manner-of-burning requirements on all burning under the chapter, including cooking fires. All burning must be conducted during daylight hours, and nothing may be left burning or smoldering after sunset unless it is inside a fully enclosed or covered incinerator, or an established fireplace or fire pit, which in practice covers most backyard smokers and fire pits used after dark.

All burning, cooking fires included, must also be conducted under constant observation by a responsible person; an unattended smoker or grill fire is a manner-of-burning violation even though cooking fires themselves are permitted. Because outdoor cooking fires sit inside the same chapter as open burning generally, they are also subject to shutdown under section 4-4-7 if smoke from the fire becomes a nuisance or hazardous condition, or if a fire management agency or the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has declared a regional burn ban, regardless of the fire's food-preparation purpose.