Burn ban lifted for all North Carolina counties as conditions improve

RALEIGH, NC (December 13, 2021) — The N.C. Forest Service has lifted a ban on all open burning effective at noon Monday, December 13, for the following counties in North Carolina: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Forsyth, Granville, Guilford, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Orange, Person, Polk, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Stokes, Surry, Transylvania, Vance, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin and Yancey.

The ban, which went into effect November 29 due to hazardous forest fire conditions, was lifted for 67 other counties on December 8.

“We saw some much-needed rain during the weekend, and that has thankfully helped bring fire danger down, allowing us to lift burn ban restrictions statewide,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Still, I’d caution residents to remain vigilant about burning responsibly and safely. Make sure you have a valid burn permit and contact your NCFS county ranger for wildfire prevention and fire safety tips.”

As of noon, burn permits are available statewide. Residents can obtain a burn permit from any authorized permitting agent or online at www.ncforestservice.gov/burnpermit. All burn permits granted before the statewide burn ban were canceled when the ban became effective. A valid permit must be obtained.

Residents with questions regarding their specific county can contact their N.C. Forest Service county ranger or county fire marshal’s office. To find contact information for your local NCFS county ranger, visit www.ncforestservice.gov/contacts.

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