Fireplace help for San Diego County homes

Last updated October 29, 2026 · Reviewed by the Fireplace Helpline tech team

Gas emergency numbers in San Diego County

• SDG&E: 1-800-611-7343, or 911. SDG&E says that if you suspect a gas leak, leave the area immediately, then from a safe location call 911 or its emergency line.

If your gas bill shows a different emergency number, use the number on your bill. Many backcountry homes use a propane tank instead; see the propane section below.

How Fireplace Helpline works in San Diego County

We're a video service, not a local shop, and we don't have an office in San Diego County. You book a call, point your phone at the fireplace, and a real fireplace tech guides you by voice. Many problems can be diagnosed, and often fixed, in one call. If yours needs hands-on work, tell us your ZIP code and we'll help you find a local pro.

Flat prices, shown before you book: Quick Fix $49 · Full Diagnostic $89 · Priority Fix $139.

A gas state with a mild coast

64% of California homes heat mainly with natural gas and 20% with electricity (EIA, 2020). Near the San Diego coast, though, a gas fireplace or log set runs mostly on cool evenings, so a pilot that won't light after months off is the usual problem. Up the coast and inland, see Los Angeles and Riverside-San Bernardino.

Tented for termites? The gas goes off first

SDG&E says your natural gas service has to be shut off before a home is tented for fumigation, and only SDG&E or its certified contractors may operate the shutoff valve, not the fumigation company. It schedules the turn-on no sooner than the day after the tent comes down, once you have the fumigator's re-entry certificate, and can check and adjust your gas appliances then. If your fireplace pilot still won't light after that, a tech can walk you through it by video.

SDG&E can check your appliances

SDG&E offers a free gas appliances check you can book through its My Energy Center; it says its technicians inspect gas appliances such as heaters, ranges and water heaters, can make minor adjustments and light heater pilots.

California's CO alarm law

California law requires a State Fire Marshal-listed carbon monoxide device in every existing home that has a fossil-fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage; single-family homes had to comply by July 1, 2011, and other dwellings by 2013. If your gas fireplace hasn't run in a while, test the CO alarm before you light it.

Propane fireplace in San Diego County?

If your fireplace runs on propane (a tank or cylinders outside and a propane company that delivers, rather than a utility gas meter), the utility numbers above aren't your first call. Smell gas? Get out, then call your propane supplier, or 911, from outside. In California, 2% of homes heat mainly with propane (EIA, 2020).

Propane fireplaces have a few problems of their own: a low or empty tank, a fireplace that won't light after a refill, and a regulator buried in snow or ice. The propane industry's safety guide says that if your tank runs out, your propane supplier or a qualified pro should leak-check the system before the gas goes back on. Our guide covers the safe checks: propane fireplace won't light or stay lit.

Electric fireplaces in San Diego homes

From downtown high-rises to newer homes in Chula Vista and Carlsbad, plenty of San Diego fireplaces are electric, run for the flame effect with the heater barely used. We help with those by video too. A tech goes through the safe checks with you: plugged straight into a working wall outlet (no extension cord), the breaker or GFCI not tripped, fresh remote batteries, and the maker's reset after a cool-down if the overheat switch shut it off. We'll never ask you to open the unit or touch wiring. See electric fireplace not working.

San Diego fireplace not working? Start here

• Pilot won't light: Clicking but no flame, or no spark at all. The usual causes, in order.
• Pilot lights, then goes out: It lights, but won't stay lit. Usually the flame isn't heating the sensor enough.
• Pilot is lit, burner won't come on: The pilot's burning but the main flame never comes up.
• Propane fireplace won't light: Low tank, a recent run-out or refill, or a regulator under snow. Safe checks first.
• Electric fireplace won't turn on: No power, no heat, or it shut itself off. The safe checks manufacturers list, in order.
• Remote not working: Batteries, switch position, then re-pairing. Steps from the manufacturers.
• Proflame 2 blinking red light: One, two or three red blinks on the control module. What each one means and what to do first.
• Need a replacement part? Send us your model and serial, and a tech matches the exact gas, propane or electric fireplace part.

Common questions

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