Masonboro Village

POSTED SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 AT 3:04 PM     CATEGORY: FIRE RESCUE • NEWS RELEASE • RECOVERY & RESILIENCE

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC – New Hanover County officials will lift the ban on open burning in the unincorporated areas of the county on Friday, September 25, 2020.

“With debris collection from Hurricane Isaias nearing completion, fire risks have decreased allowing us to lift the burn ban, that has been in place in the unincorporated areas of the county, beginning this Friday,” said New Hanover County Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Frank Meyer. “We encourage our residents to practice fire safety and be aware of rules and regulations, like notifying neighbors of plans to burn and keeping watch over the fire, if they choose to burn vegetative debris.”

The City of Wilmington and the towns of Carolina, Kure, and Wrightsville Beach each have their own restrictions on open burning, and the lifting of the burn ban only applies to the unincorporated areas of New Hanover County.

Residents in the unincorporated county who plan to burn vegetative debris should adhere to the following:

• Only the open burning of vegetative debris, such as leaves, tree limbs and trimmings is permitted. Burning of household garbage, construction debris, furniture or any other material is prohibited at all times.

• Burning of vegetative debris is permitted on the property where the debris originated. Residents may not burn debris hauled from other locations.

• Burning must take place more than 50 feet from structures, like homes, fences or storage buildings. Piles that are smaller than three feet wide and two feet high can be burned 25 feet from structures.

• Open burning must be attended to at all times by a person able to control and extinguish the fire.

A permit is required for open burning of vegetative debris outside of a fire pit or similar structure. Permits are free of charge and available on the NC Forest Services website. To report smoke concerns, contact the NC Division of Air Quality local office at 910-350-2004.