Cleveland County, NC Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Cleveland County folds its recreational-fire rule into Section 11-45 of the Code of Ordinances, which adopts North Carolina Fire Prevention Code Section 307 for all open burning in the unincorporated county. 6, must stay at least fifty feet from any structure, with two narrower exceptions: a fire in an approved container may sit as close as fifteen feet, and a pile three feet or less in diameter and two feet or less high needs only twenty-five feet. Recreational fires and bonfires get a more permissive rule: under subsection (7), a recreational fire cannot burn within twenty-five feet of a structure or combustible material unless it is contained in a barbecue pit, in which case the twenty-five-foot buffer does not apply.

Whatever conditions could let the fire spread within that buffer must be eliminated before lighting. Subsection (8) requires that any open burning, bonfire or recreational fire be constantly attended until it is fully out, with at least one portable fire extinguisher rated 4-A, or equivalent equipment such as a garden hose, dirt or a water barrel, on hand. The fire marshal's office, county solid waste and law enforcement can all issue citations, and a fire department that responds to an illegal burn can extinguish it on the spot.

Violating Section 11-45 is a misdemeanor and carries a separate one-hundred-dollar fine, on top of the Fire Code's civil-penalty schedule, which classifies a recreational-fire violation as a Type 3 offense carrying a two-hundred-fifty-dollar civil penalty under Section 4-91.