Burn permits and fire pits in Tiburon, California
Backyard brush and yard-waste burning is effectively not allowed: the Bay Area Air District bans open burning except for listed fire types, and a hazard-reduction fire must be set or allowed by a fire official. Built-in fire pits and other exterior fire features in the Tiburon Fire Protection District must run on natural gas, sit 10 feet from the house, and are treated as a minor alteration under the town's design review.
| General rule (air district) | No open burning except as Regulation 5 allows [1] |
| Recreational fires | Exempt from the general ban, clean dry wood only [2] |
| Mandatory Burn Ban days | No recreational fires [4] |
| Exterior fire features (fire pits) | Natural gas only; 10 ft from structure; hardscape 1.5x flame height [5] |
| Hazard-reduction burning | Only if set or allowed by a public fire official [6] |
| Town design review for fire pits | Minor alteration decided by the Director [7] |
Brush and yard waste
Tiburon is in the Bay Area Air District, whose Regulation 5 forbids anyone from igniting or allowing any fires within the district except as the regulation provides [1]. The allowed categories are mostly agricultural, wildland and public-agency fires, and even those may only burn on permissive burn days. The one that could reach a homeowner is a hazard-reduction fire, which must be set or allowed by a public fire official in the performance of official duty and only when the hazard can't be abated another way [6]. In practice, plan on chipping, green-waste pickup or hauling instead of burning brush.
Recreational fires
Recreational fires are exempt from the general ban [2]. The air district defines them as campfires, bonfires, handwarming fires and similar social fires, provided only clean dry wood and fire starter are used and it isn't part of a business [3]. They are prohibited on Mandatory Burn Ban days [4]. Cooking fires are fully exempt.
Fire pits and outdoor fireplaces
The Tiburon Fire Protection District's fire code (Ordinance 133, adopting the 2025 California Fire Code) adds a local rule for exterior fire features used in landscaping: they must be surrounded by hardscape one and a half times the flame height, located 10 feet from the structure, and fueled by natural gas [5]. That effectively rules out a built-in wood-burning fire pit in the district. The town treats fire pits as a minor exterior alteration that the Community Development Director can approve through site plan and architectural review [7].
The town's building code adopts the California Fire Code as modified by both the Tiburon Fire Protection District and the Southern Marin Fire Protection District [8], so if your home is in Southern Marin's area, its ordinance (which we did not review) applies instead. The district ordinance we reviewed is a scanned document, so check the exact wording with the fire district.
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Next steps
- Check the Bay Area Air District's Spare the Air and burn ban status before any recreational fire.
- For a built-in fire pit, design it for natural gas, 10 feet from the house, with surrounding hardscape, and apply for site plan and architectural review with the Planning Division (415-435-7390).
- Confirm requirements with the Tiburon Fire Protection District (see the district website), or Southern Marin Fire if it serves your address.
- Dispose of brush by chipping or green-waste collection instead of burning.
Common questions
- Can I burn yard waste or brush in Tiburon, California?
- Effectively no. The Bay Area Air District bans open burning except for listed fire types, and a hazard-reduction fire must be set or allowed by a fire official.
- Can I have a fire pit in Tiburon, California?
- Built-in fire pits and other exterior fire features in the Tiburon Fire Protection District must run on natural gas and sit 10 feet from the house. They are treated as a minor alteration under the town's design review.
- Are recreational fires allowed in Tiburon, California?
- They are exempt from the general ban and need clean dry wood only, but not on Mandatory Burn Ban days.
California rules on outdoor burning and fire pits
Outdoor burning is controlled mainly by your regional air district and CAL FIRE or your local fire agency, and city codes add more limits.
Statewide rules:
- No trash burning: since January 1, 2004, a California Air Resources Board rule has banned burning household garbage outdoors at homes, and burn barrels can't be used, even for vegetation. Dry vegetation grown on the property may be burned in open piles unless local rules prohibit it, on days the air district allows.
- Fire permits in wildland areas: in state responsibility areas and other areas CAL FIRE protects, burning brush or other vegetation needs a written permit during fire season, and at any time in some zones (Pub. Res. Code §4423).
- Cooking and recreational fires are not covered by the state open-burning ban (Health & Safety Code §41806). Air districts can still restrict them.
Examples of air district rules (check yours):
- Bay Area Air District: open burning is prohibited unless a specific exemption applies (Regulation 5). Recreational fires are allowed except during a Mandatory Burn Ban. During a Spare the Air Alert, it's illegal to burn wood in fireplaces, wood stoves or outdoor fire pits (Regulation 6, Rule 3).
- South Coast AQMD: residential burning (burning a home's combustible waste on site) is banned (Rule 444). From November through February, declared No-Burn days bar indoor and outdoor wood-burning devices, including fire pits and chimineas (Rule 445), with some exemptions.
Other districts have their own burn-day systems; check yours and your city fire code.
What the ordinance says
- Reg. 5, Sec. 5-301.1, BAAQMD Regulation 5 - Open Burning (amended October 1, 2025), p. 6
301.1 A person shall not ignite, cause to be ignited, permit to be ignited, or suffer, allow, or maintain any fires within the District.
- Reg. 5, Sec. 5-112, BAAQMD Regulation 5 - Open Burning (amended October 1, 2025), p. 3
5-112 Limited Exemption, Recreational Fires: A fire set for recreational purposes is exempt from the requirements of Section 301.
- Reg. 5, Sec. 5-223, BAAQMD Regulation 5 - Open Burning (amended October 1, 2025), p. 6
5-223 Recreational Fires: A fire used for social, cultural or other activities including, but not limited to, campfires, bonfires, ceremonial fires, handwarming fires, raku or pit pottery curing fires, or fires conducted as part of an unusual event such as fire walking provided only clean dry wood and fire starter is used, and the activity is not part of a business for gainful occupation.
- Reg. 5, Sec. 5-302, BAAQMD Regulation 5 - Open Burning (amended October 1, 2025), p. 6
5-302 Mandatory Burn Ban for Recreational Fires: No person shall ignite, cause to be ignited, permit to be ignited, or suffer, allow, or maintain any recreational fires during Mandatory Burn Ban periods, as defined in Regulation 6, Rule 3: Wood-Burning Devices, Section 6-3-301.
- TFPD Ord. 133, CFC Sec. 307.4.4, Tiburon Fire Protection District Ordinance #133 (2025 California Fire Code and WUI Code, as adopted), p. 19
Section 307.4.4 Exterior Fire Features. Exterior fire features, commonly used in landscape modifications or enhancements, shall be surrounded by hardscape one and a half times the height of the flame and located ten (10) feet from the structure. All exterior fire features shall be sourced by natural gas.
- Reg. 5, Sec. 5-401.6, BAAQMD Regulation 5 - Open Burning (amended October 1, 2025), p. 8
The fire must be set or allowed by any public fire official having jurisdiction, in the performance of official duty. The fire must, in the opinion of such officer, be necessary, and the fire hazard not able to be abated by any other means.
- Sec. 16-52.020(F)(4), Municipal Code Ch. 16 (Zoning) Sec. 16-52 Permit Review and Decisions (16-52.100 Accessory Dwelling Unit; 16-52.110 Home Occupations; 16-52.080 Tidelands Permit; 16-52.020 Site Plan & Architectural Review), p. 1
Minor exterior alterations such as, but not limited to, windows, decks, skylights, awnings, satellite dishes, fire pits and similar items as determined by the director in his reasonable discretion;
- Sec. 13-4.5, Municipal Code Ch. 13 Building Regulations (13-4.5 Fire Code), p. 1
The Town Council hereby adopts, for the purpose of providing minimum requirements for the protection of life, limb, health, property, safety and welfare of the general public, that certain code known as the 2022 California Fire Code (as adopted and modified by the current Tiburon Fire Protection District and Southern Marin Fire Protection District ordinances), which Code and ordinances are hereby referred to, ratified, and made a part hereof as if fully set forth herein.