State Forester’s burning ban lifted for 44 counties, including Laurens County

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA

The State Forester’s Burning Ban was lifted for all but two South Carolina counties at 5 p.m. on March 5.

The State Forester’s Burning Ban will be lifted for Georgetown County, effective at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Horry County will remain under the burning ban until further notice.

The statewide ban was issued Saturday, March 1, in the interest of public safety during an intense outbreak of wildfires that included more than 100 ignitions, many of them major incidents.

The Forestry Commission is lifting the ban in the 45 counties for several reasons. The dangerous combination of dry fuels and gusty winds that led to the elevated wildfire risk and subsequent spate of wildfires has eased temporarily, and the rain across the state has improved conditions for the short term.

Underlying conditions, however, still warrant the need for caution on the part of those who choose to conduct outdoor burning, as drought and elevated fire risk are expected for the rest of March continuing through April.

Horry County remains under the ban because it is still experiencing high and/or complex wildfire activity. The 2,000+ acre Covington Drive Fire just outside Myrtle Beach remains the largest active incident in the state, involving hundreds of personnel and resources as part of the response effort.
Citizens who may plan to conduct outdoor burning of residential yard debris or prescribed burns must still notify the Forestry Commission before doing so. Notification procedures as well as mandatory precautions for conducting burns may be found on the SCFC website: https://www.scfc.gov/protection/fire-burning/.