Burn bans by state

North Carolina burn bans, county by county

No single North Carolina list exists for us to watch, so this page won't pretend to show you a live status. What it can do: tell you who declares a burn ban here and where today's answer actually lives.

Who declares a burn ban in North Carolina

North Carolina burn bans are issued by the N.C. Forest Service — the state forester can ban all open burning statewide or for named counties — and county fire marshals can add local bans on top of that.

Statewide, start with the N.C. Forest Service . Locally, the county itself has today's answer — the courthouse, the fire marshal, the sheriff's office, or your fire department.

Rules change fast in dry weather — confirm with your county fire marshal or burn line before you light.

Why it might be dry enough to matter

Bans follow dry ground — see this week's drought picture, state by state.

Heading onto national forest land? County rules stop at the boundary — check the forest's fire restrictions and what stage 1 and stage 2 mean.

Every North Carolina county

Each page below covers one county: who declares a ban there, where to check, and how dry the ground is running.