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

Section 26-2(a) starts from a broad rule: no person shall kindle or maintain any open burning within the unincorporated areas of the county, except as stated in the article. Subsection (b) then defines a recreational fire as a fire contained within a pit, barrel, or other noncombustible enclosure for the purpose of pleasure, religious, ceremonial or other similar purposes, and defines a warming fire the same way but for the purpose of warming. Subsection (i)(2) carves these fires out of the general restriction: the article is not meant to restrict open burning in connection with the preparation of food for immediate consumption, or campfires and fires used solely for recreational purposes, ceremonial occasions or human warmth that are done in a safe manner.

That exemption means a contained backyard fire pit does not have to meet the same setback distance the code applies to open burning of leaves, tree branches and yard trimmings under a separate subsection, nor a nighttime no-added-fuel rule that applies to yard-debris burns. The code does not print a numeric distance requirement for a recreational or warming fire itself; being done in a safe manner is the operative standard. Subsection (n) designates the Darlington County fire chief or a designee, the sheriff's office, and county codes enforcement as the officials who enforce the whole open-burning article, including this exemption.