Burn Bans

No state-issued burn ban in effect: the statewide ban issued March 28, 2026 was fully lifted — 81 counties on May 3 and the final 19 effective 8 a.m. May 8 — and none has been issued since (re-read September 29, 2026: no ban is posted on the NCFS open-burning page, which states that open burning is prohibited, permit or not, whenever the Commissioner enacts a state-issued ban). A burn ban can only be enacted by the Commissioner of Agriculture. Baseline: between midnight and 4 p.m. a permit is required to burn in or within 500 ft of NCFS-protected woodland, and only natural vegetation may be burned. PERMIT-RULE CHANGE: effective June 22, 2026 New Hanover and Pender counties became "high hazard" counties (S.B. 401 / N.C. Farm Act), bringing the total to 21 — in a high-hazard county a permit is ALWAYS required for burns under five acres, and a special permit with added safety conditions for land clearing over five acres. The state system does not cover fires within 100 ft of an occupied dwelling, where local government has jurisdiction.