RALEIGH ó State officials announced Wednesday a temporary lifting of the ban on open burning for all 100 counties in North Carolina.
Recent rains across the state, while not ending the drought, were sufficient to make carefully tended open burning safe, to reduce the amount of dry forest debris and to cut the potential for larger, more intense and harder-to-control fires later in the year, especially during the spring fire season, officials said.
The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its Division of Forest Resources will continue weekly monitoring of conditions to determine if the burning ban needs to be reinstated, according to a state press release.
The ban on open burning could be reinstated if the potential for wildfire activity increases because the state continues to receive below normal rainfall coupled with above average temperatures and increased wildfire activity.
During the past seven days, statewide rainfall totals ranged from about a quarter of an inch in a few coastal areas to as much as 3 inches in the Piedmont and foothills, according to the National Weather Service.
The ban on open burning was imposed Oct. 15 because of dry weather and depleted water resources across the state. The decision to lift the ban comes at the recommendation of the N.C. Division of Forest Resources, which fights wildfires and regularly measures factors such as weather and available fuels that play an important role in wildfires.Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Bill Ross recommended temporarily lifting the ban to:
– Reduce built-up fuel loads.
– Allow state forestry staff and local firefighters to focus on other important responsibilities while the risk for wildfires is low, as it is now.
– Allow those around the state who need to do open burning for research and other permitted purposes to do so.
If people burn leaves and other vegetative materials, they should take the same precautions they would have if it had not rained because fires can easily escape and become dangerous. Some important rules to follow if you burn include:
– Open burning may include burning leaves, branches and other plant material. It is illegal to burn trash, lumber, tires, newspapers, plastics, or other non-vegetative materials.
– Outdoor burning is still prohibited in areas covered by Code Orange or Code Red air quality forecasts.
– Make sure you have a valid burning permit. You can obtain a burning permit at any N.C. Department of Forestry Resources office or permitting agent or online at www.dfr.state.nc.us.
– Follow local laws on debris burning. Some communities allow burning only during specified hours; others forbid it entirely.
– Check the weather. Don’t burn on dry, windy days.
– Be prepared before burning. Keep fire tools available. To control a fire, you will need a garden hose, a bucket, a steel rake and a shovel for tossing dirt on the fire. Never use kerosene, gasoline, diesel fuel, or other flammable liquids to speed burning.
– Always stay with the fire until it has been extinguished.