Clearing brush by burning is allowed in unincorporated Dorchester County, but S.C. Code 48-35-10 makes it unlawful to burn woodland, brush, or grass without first notifying the South Carolina Forestry Commission and clearing a firebreak.
Burning cleared brush in Dorchester County is governed by state forestry and air rules, not a county burn permit. S.C. Code 48-35-10 requires that before you burn any woodlands, brushlands, grasslands, ditchbanks, hedgerows, or adjacent leaves and debris, you give proper notification to the State Forester and clear around the area with equipment and people ready to keep the fire from spreading. The free notification goes to the South Carolina Forestry Commission, which checks fire-danger conditions. Only vegetative debris may burn, never trash, treated wood, or tires under SCDHEC rules. In the timbered St. George, Harleyville, and Reevesville stretches of the county, land-clearing and forestry burns draw the most scrutiny.
Burning woodland or brush without notifying the Forestry Commission, or burning during a ban, is a misdemeanor. An escaped fire makes the person liable for suppression costs and neighbor damage.
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