Irvine Municipal Code Div. 4 Fire

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Cross reference— Fire alarms, tit. 4, div. 20.

It shall be unlawful in the City for any person or persons to ignite or light a fire or use fire for clearing land, or to burn brush, stumps, logs, fallen timber, fallows, slash or grass or forest covered land or any other inflammable material, or blasting with dynamite, powder or other explosives or setting off fireworks of any kind in forest, fallows, brush, grass or grain covered lands, either on his or her own and/or the property of another, unless such burning or blasting is done under the written permit from a federal or State officer or a fire warden duly authorized to issue such permits, within the City; provided, however, that no written permission shall be necessary to burn inflammable material in small heaps or piles, where the fire is set on a public road, in door yard premises, corrals, gardens or plowed fields, at a distance not less than 100 feet from any woodland, timber or brush covered land or field containing dry grass or other inflammable material; and provided, also, that there shall be at least one adult person in actual attendance and in charge of such fire at all times during its burning; and provided further that nothing in this section shall prevent the use of fires in permanent homes for domestic purposes.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-101; Ord. No. 27, § 33.021, 4-17-72)

It shall be unlawful in the City for any person to set fire or cause or procure fire to be set, to any forest, brush, or other inflammable vegetation growing on lands not their own, without permission of the owner or agent of such lands, or to set, ignite, use or maintain a campfire, or other fires, on the property of another, or upon any public road or highway, which contains a cover of forest, brush, grass or other inflammable vegetation, between April 15 and December 31 of any year, without first obtaining written permission from the owner or agent of such lands; provided that such written permission must be approved by a forest ranger, or duly authorized fire warden, before starting such fire, unless such person or persons possess a written campfire permit duly issued by or under authority of the United States Forestry Service, for use in a territory under the jurisdiction of said United States Forestry Service, and is fully complying with all rules and regulations of the United States Forestry Service; and provided further that no written permission shall be necessary to build or maintain campfires within the boundaries of an established campground or site, which has been designated for such use by the County Fire Warden or State Forest Ranger, as provided in Section 4-4-103.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-102; Ord. No. 27, § 33.023, 4-17-72)

The County Fire Warden or State Forest Ranger having charge and jurisdiction of fire control in the City is hereby authorized at his or her discretion to designate campgrounds or sites on private property by written request of the owner or owners, or on public roads with the permission of the owner of adjoining or abutting lands, where campfires may be built and maintained, and said fire warden or ranger shall cause to be displayed proper signs or posters indicating the limits or places where campfires may be built and maintained; provided, however, that any person building or maintaining or using a campfire within the boundaries of such campground or site shall, before leaving such campfire, thoroughly extinguish said fire in such manner as to adequately prevent such fire from burning thereafter, and that while any person is using or maintaining such campfires there shall be at least one adult person in actual attendance and in charge of such fire at all times during its burning.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-103; Ord. No. 27, § 33.024, 4-17-72)

Cross reference— Campfires and barbecues in parks, § 3-4-117.

A campsite or campground is hereby declared to be a place which has been and is cleared from all underbrush, leaves, needles and other inflammable vegetation or other material, other than a building or structure, over a sufficient area to remove any danger of fire spreading from such campground or site.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-104; Ord. No. 27, § 33.025, 4-17-72)

The County Fire Warden or State Forest Ranger having charge and jurisdiction of fire control in unincorporated territory in the City is hereby authorized, at his or her discretion, to close any private property or portion thereof to smoking, or to all public use by written request of the owner or owners of such private property, when such property contains a cover of forest, brush or other highly inflammable vegetation, pertaining to range and watershed areas, and such fire warden or ranger closing such property or portion thereof shall cause to be displayed suitable signs or posters not less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries, and at all roads and trails entering such property so closed to public use or smoking.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-105; Ord. No. 27, § 33.026, 4-17-72)

It shall be unlawful in the City for any person to go upon or be upon those portions of the Cleveland National Forest which may be designated by the Regional Forester of California as areas of fire hazard, and which are closed to public use by reason of their condition as such, except with written permit issued by the local national forest officer, but no permit shall be required of any actual settler going to or from his or her home.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-106; Ord. No. 27, § 33.027, 4-17-72)

In the City, every person owning, leasing or controlling or operating any apiary, house, cabin, hotel or other building or structure upon or adjoining any mountainous or forest or brush covered land or lands covered with other inflammable vegetation, and every person owning, leasing or controlling any such land, shall at all times maintain upon his or her said land around or adjacent to said apiary, cabin, house, hotel or other building or structure, an effective fire protection or fire break, said fire protection or fire break to be made by removing all inflammable vegetation or growth that may exist, from the ground around said apiary, cabin, house, hotel or other building or structure for a distance of not less than 30 feet, or to the property line of the property upon which such structure is erected, from the exterior walls or surfaces thereof; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to trees, except where dead, or where the foliage of said tree shall be within 10 feet of a chimney, nor shall it apply to evergreen vegetation where growing and preserved for decorative effect; and further provided that each chimney upon any cabin, house, hotel, apiary, building or structure upon any mountainous or forest or brush covered land shall be equipped with and the entire outlet thereof be covered by an adequate metal spark arrester of a type and design approved by the County Fire Warden.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-107; Ord. No. 27, § 33.028, 4-17-72)

It shall be unlawful in the City for any person to place or maintain, or cause or permit to be placed or maintained, upon his or her own lands or lands of another, any rubbish, paper, shavings, products of petroleum or other combustible material which constitute a fire menace, except at places designated by a duly authorized fire warden; such combustible material to be buried with earth or destroyed by fire, by such person as provided in Section 4-4-101.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-108; Ord. No. 27, § 33.029, 4-17-72)

All fallen timber, slash, brush, grass, litter, limbwood, or branches of trees, resulting from road building or clearing up of subdivisions, mountain homesites, etc., within or upon any forest, brush or grass covered lands, shall be destroyed by fire as provided under Section 4-4-101, or disposed of in some other satisfactory manner, so that it will not constitute a fire menace.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-109; Ord. No. 27, § 33.0210, 4-17-72)

Cross reference— Refuse generally, tit. 6, div. 7.

To carry out the purpose of this division the County Fire Warden, his or her deputies, and federal and State forest officers are hereby made peace officers empowered to issue permits in writing to light fires, to use fires, to blast or use explosives, and to inspect and abate any condition that might constitute a fire menace or a menace to the public peace, health or safety; and such fire warden shall include in any permits such safeguarding restrictions and precautions as are reasonably necessary to prevent such fires or blasting from endangering life or property, and no permit issued shall exonerate any person from civil or criminal liability in case injury results from such fire to persons or property. Any fire warden or forest officer of the County has the power to refuse, revoke or postpone permits when necessary for the protection of life or property.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-110; Ord. No. 27, § 33.0211, 4-17-72)

The Fire Chief or Director of Public Safety shall cause to be seized, taken, or removed at the expense of the owner all stocks of fireworks offered or exposed for sale, and all fireworks stored or held in violation of the City Code. For the purpose of this section, "fireworks" shall be defined in the same manner as defined in the California Fire Code, as adopted by the City.

(Code 1976, § IV.D-111; Ord. No. 93-5, § 1, 5-25-93)