A California Campfire Permit does not exempt you from a campfire ban. Three forest orders currently in force say so in nearly identical words, and each of them then lists the narrow thing the permit does buy you. We read all three on September 8, 2026.
The sentence from Sequoia National Forest Order 0513-00-26-07, effective August 11 through November 30, 2026: “Persons with a valid California Campfire Permit are not exempt from the prohibitions listed above.”
Plumas Order 05-11-26-04, signed September 4 and effective through November 1, 2026, uses the same sentence. So does Eldorado Order 03-26-06, effective August 20 through November 29, 2026.
What the permit is for
The permit is what lets you build a campfire outside a developed site in a normal year. A restriction order is a separate document that removes that permission for a season. The permit does not survive the order, and holding one is not a defense.
Under all three orders you can still have a fire in specific developed recreation sites, each order naming its own list in an exhibit. Sequoia lists sites by ranger district. Eldorado allows fires only “within stoves, charcoal grills, or fire rings provided in the Developed Recreation Sites listed in Exhibit A.” Plumas lists its designated sites the same way. Dispersed, on the forest road, none of them allow a wood fire right now.
What the permit does buy you
A gas device with a shut-off valve, in a cleared area. The wording differs by forest and so does the clearance:
- Sequoia: a stove or lantern running on gas, kerosene, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel with a shut-off valve, or a propane campfire pit with an on/off switch, “in an area at least five feet from any flammable materials.” Wood-burning campfire pits are prohibited.
- Plumas: the same class of devices, plus “a wood pellet fueled grill or device with a functional on-off switch,” at “at least three feet from any flammable materials.”
- Eldorado: “a portable propane campfire pit, stove, or lantern” running on the same fuels, with a shut-off valve, at least 3 feet from flammable materials.
Three feet on two forests, five on the third. That gap is the whole reason to read the order for the ground you are actually on rather than a summary of California.
The other thing Plumas requires
Plumas prohibits “Entering an area without any firefighting tool,” and defines the minimum as a hand tool such as a shovel plus at least one gallon of water and/or a fire extinguisher. That is a prohibition on entry, not just on having a fire, and it applies whether or not you plan to cook.
What to do
Open the alerts page for your forest at fs.usda.gov and find the alert carrying an order number. All three of these publish the signed text, so you can read the exemption clause yourself in about a minute. Then look at the sign at the trailhead or the kiosk: the posted order and current word from the district office beat this page and every app.
Our fire restrictions page covers how the stages work, and the California free camping page is the place to start on the rest of the state.