Fire Pits and Outdoor Fireplaces in Riverside County: Clearances, Gas and the Fire Zone

A fire feature is the most requested thing in a Southern California backyard and the one with the widest gap between what people picture and what is allowed on their lot.

The confusion comes from a single distinction that almost nobody makes out loud: a permanently installed gas fire feature and a wood-burning fire are two different things under two different sets of rules.

Start here: which one are you building?

A built-in gas fire pit or fireplace is an appliance.

It is connected to a gas line, it is listed by a manufacturer, and it carries the clearances that come with its listing. It is permitted work, inspected, and the rules that govern it are the gas code and the manufacturer's instructions.

A wood-burning fire pit is a recreational fire.

It is governed by the fire code, by local ordinance and by air quality rules, and the numbers are about distance rather than about installation.

They get discussed as the same purchase and they are not the same project at all.

Wood-burning: the distances the fire code uses

The California Fire Code sets separation requirements by what kind of fire it is:

• Open burning: not less than 50 feet from any structure

• A fire in an approved container: not less than 15 feet

• A recreational fire: not less than 25 feet from a structure or combustible material

• A portable outdoor fireplace: 15 feet, reduced to 3 feet at one- and two-family dwellings where the unit is listed and used according to its instructions

That last line is why the store-bought steel bowl with a spark screen is treated differently from a fire ring you dug into the patio. One is a listed appliance used as intended. The other is a recreational fire.

The code also expects an extinguisher or other approved extinguishing equipment on hand, and constant attendance until the fire is completely out. Those are not suggestions in a county that burns.

Separately from all of that, air quality rules restrict wood burning on certain days. Check before you plan a wood feature as the centerpiece of the yard.

The fire zone, which can end the conversation

Large parts of Temecula, Murrieta, Wildomar and Lake Elsinore sit in or against a fire hazard severity zone. In those areas, open flame outdoors is restricted, sometimes prohibited outright, and the rules come from the fire authority rather than from the building department. It is the same designation that changes what your patio cover can be built from: patio covers and decks in Temecula and Murrieta.

This is the question to ask first if a wood fire is the plan, because the answer can be no regardless of how far the pit is from the house.

Gas is the usual answer where that applies, and it is one reason gas features are the default across this region rather than a preference.

Gas: the same trapped-gas problem as a BBQ island

A built-in gas fire pit is usually a masonry or framed enclosure with a burner in the top and a gas line running into it. Which means it is a box, with gas inside it.

An enclosure that is not vented can collect gas from a weeping connection, and the consequence is the same as it is under a grill.

• Propane is heavier than air and settles, so venting has to release it low

• Natural gas is lighter and rises, so venting has to release it high

• The burner pan, the media and the enclosure all have to be assembled the way the manufacturer lists them, because that is what the clearance ratings are based on

If the yard is also getting a kitchen, the venting question, the gas sizing and the capacity of your meter should all be answered once, for everything together: outdoor kitchens and BBQ islands.

A fire pit, a grill, a side burner and a pool heater added over three years to a house that was sized for a furnace and a water heater is how a yard ends up with four gas appliances that each work alone and none that work together.

Where it can sit

Beyond the code distances, four placement constraints come up on almost every job here:

• Overhead. A fire feature under a patio cover, a pergola or a tree is a clearance question before it is a design question, and on a combustible cover it is frequently a no

• The property line and the fence. Heat and the fence do not have to be in the same place

• Wind. Afternoon wind in this part of the county is real and consistent, and it decides whether the seating area is usable or smoky

• What it stands on. A fire feature is heavy and concentrated, and on expansive clay it wants a footing rather than a paver set on sand

The slab under it is the same design question as the rest of the hardscape: concrete driveways and patios in Temecula and Murrieta.

Permits, and who to ask first

For a built-in gas feature, expect a gas permit at minimum, plus whatever your jurisdiction requires for the structure itself. For anything involving electrical, an electrical permit.

The order of the phone calls matters here, and it is not the usual order:

1. The fire authority, because in a fire hazard zone they can answer whether an open flame is permitted at all, and no amount of building permit fixes a no

2. The building department, for the structure and the trade permits

3. The HOA, whose architectural review covers permanent structures in the rear yard

Asking the building department first is the common mistake. They will tell you about the permit, not about whether the fire authority allows the flame.

Common questions

Do I need a permit for a portable fire pit I bought at a store?

For the unit itself, no. It is furniture. What still applies is the separation distance, any local restriction on open flame, and air quality rules on burn days.

Can I put a fire pit under my covered patio?

Sometimes, with a gas unit listed for that use and the clearance the listing requires. Under a combustible cover the answer is usually no, and the honest version of that answer comes before the deposit.

Is gas or wood cheaper?

Wood is cheaper to build and more restricted to use. Gas costs more up front, because it is a permitted gas line and a listed appliance, and it is the one you can actually use on a no-burn day or in a fire hazard zone.

What does it cost?

Gas or wood, how far the gas has to run, whether the meter has capacity, the enclosure, the footing and which approvals apply all move it. Rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for your yard, we will look at it with you.

Start with a free 15-minute call

Tell us the city, whether you are inside city limits or unincorporated, whether you want gas or wood, where you are picturing it and whether anything is overhead. In fifteen minutes we can usually tell you whether open flame is restricted on your parcel, whether the clearance works where you want it, and whether your gas service can carry another appliance.

Call (323) 651-0635 to book the free 15-minute consultation. If your project needs a site visit and a paid assessment, we will say so on the call rather than after it.

A fire feature sits late in the build sequence, after the flat work and the utilities: planning a backyard in Riverside County.

The Ultimate Pro, Inc. CA License 831700, Class B General Building. Serving Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties since 1996.