Whittier, CA Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

A backyard smoker is a cooking appliance subject to the Los Angeles County Fire Code (Title 32) that Whittier adopts at Municipal Code Section 15.15.010, which incorporates the California Fire Code. A commercially produced charcoal, pellet, or propane smoker used as an open-flame cooking device must be operated safely away from combustible construction - under CFC Section 308.1.4, charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices shall not be operated within 10 feet of combustible construction or on combustible balconies (with limited exceptions for one- and two-family dwellings). Using small amounts of cooking wood or wood chips for flavor inside a manufactured smoker is normal barbecue practice, but building a loose open wood fire on the ground is not a permitted cooking method and edges into open-burning rules. Propane-fired smokers follow the same CFC Chapter 61 LP-gas rules - a standard 20-pound cylinder outdoors needs no permit. Smoke from a smoker must not become a public nuisance; excessive or sustained wood smoke that drifts onto neighbors can be addressed under the City's nuisance provisions, and South Coast AQMD Rule 444 bars open burning of waste. Smokers should be kept clear of structures, fences, and combustibles and attended while in use. In the Whittier Hills Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, keep smokers well away from dry brush, especially on red-flag days.