Cherokee County, SC Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Article III of Chapter 11 of the Cherokee County Code bans open burning in the unincorporated areas (§ 11-151) and then exempts recreational fires, fires used to prepare food and fires used solely for warmth under § 11-154(C). Section 11-152(c) defines a recreational fire as an outdoor fire of solid fuels or natural vegetation small enough to be controlled by one person with a rake, hoe, shovel and a large bucket of water. The definition says it should be no more than nine (9) square feet in area and no more than twenty-four (24) inches high, and that it is for religious, ceremonial or recreational purposes only. Burning yard debris or trash for disposal is not a recreational fire.

The setback is twenty-five (25) feet from a structure, a street or alley, or combustible material, and any condition that could carry the fire inside that distance must be eliminated before ignition. Cooking fires and warmth fires burn only solid fuels or natural vegetation and follow the same size and setback rules. Section 11-154(C)(4) limits the fuel to defined solid fuels and clean wood products, meaning woody vegetation, leaves, or wood that is not coated with stain, paint, glue or other coating material and is not treated lumber.

An outdoor fireplace or outdoor cooking apparatus gets a carve-out. Section 11-154(C)(5) treats a burn contained in one as a recreational fire but enforces no minimum setback when the unit is installed and operated according to the manufacturer's specifications. Section 11-152(b) allows only solid fuels in an outdoor fireplace.

Two limits sit on top of the exemption. A recreational fire is not exempt from any outdoor burning ban issued by the South Carolina Forestry Commission (§ 11-152(c)), and § 11-154(C)(2) makes a fire lit during a state ban subject to the article's penalties. Every exempt fire must also be constantly attended, with a portable extinguisher rated at least 4-A or other approved equipment such as dirt, sand or a water barrel available (§ 11-153). A larger ceremonial fire is a bonfire under § 11-152(d), no more than eighteen (18) square feet and sixty (60) inches high, and § 11-154(B) requires fifty (50) feet from a structure or street plus a connected water source or a noncombustible barrier.