← South Carolina burn ban rules›Current Fire Restrictions
South Carolina Current Fire Restrictions (2026)
Info: LawLert read the South Carolina Forestry Commission's Bans and Alerts page on November 13, 2026 and it lists no active State Forester's or Governor's Burning Ban. The page does not publish an affirmative "no ban" statement, so treat this as the absence of a posted ban rather than a guarantee: check scfc.gov's Bans and Alerts page, or your local SCFC office, before you burn. When a State Forester's Ban is declared it bars starting any fire in or adjacent to woodlands, brushlands, grasslands, ditchbanks or hedgerows, including campfires and recreational fires; fires for warmth or food and fires in code-compliant enclosed fireplaces, chimineas or noncombustible fire pits are exempt under S.C. Code 48-35-55, and a ban does not apply within the corporate limits of a town or city, where city and county burning ordinances still apply. Violation of either a State Forester's Ban or a Governor's Ban carries a fine of up to $200 for a first offense and at least $500 for second and subsequent offenses. Separately and at all times, state law requires you to notify the South Carolina Forestry Commission before burning yard debris. A Red Flag Fire Alert is advisory: it does not prohibit outdoor burning as long as all other state and local regulations are followed, but it may trigger county or local ordinances that do restrict outdoor fires: ask your local fire department.
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“While the Red Flag itself does not prohibit burning, it may trigger certain county or local ordinances that do restrict outdoor fires. To find out about these ordinances, contact your local fire department. Forestry Commission officers do not enforce local burning ordinances; that authority is reserved to city or county officers.”
Read on Oct 28, 2026 from scfc.gov. Quoted as published there; the summary above is LawLert’s plain-language reading of it.
Checked against the official source once on Oct 28, 2026. A check re-reads the source and tries to refute the published wording; when it fails, the wording is rewritten from the source and logged in Corrections.
Check the live restriction status: scfc.gov →
General legal information, not legal advice — verify important decisions with a licensed attorney.
Current Fire Restrictions in states bordering South Carolina
How each neighboring state LawLert has verified classifies the same rule, with its own official source and the date it was last checked. The wording is on that state’s page.
- GeorgiaInfo
Verified Nov 12, 2026 · Source: epd.georgia.gov · Full Georgia rule →
- North CarolinaInfo
Verified Nov 12, 2026 · Source: ncagr.gov · Full North Carolina rule →
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