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

Article IV of Chapter 30 governs all open burning in unincorporated Lexington County. Sec. 30-104 defines a 'recreational fire' as an outdoor fire burning solid fuels or natural vegetation for religious, ceremonial, or recreational purposes only; it excludes any fire used to dispose of yard debris or trash, which the fire chief or designee may extinguish at their discretion. Solid fuels are limited to fuelwood such as firewood, charcoal, chips, wood pellets, sawdust, peat, coal, hexamine fuel tablets, and pellets made from natural wood, and an outdoor fireplace, defined as a stone or brick structure with a hearth and short chimney, may burn only solid fuels.

Sec. 30-108(c), the location provision, sets the actual setback for a recreational fire at ten feet from dwelling structures, far less than the 75-foot separation Sec. 30-108(a) requires for yard-debris burning from any dwelling, building, outbuilding, barn, shed, or property line. Recreational fires are exempt from the county's general yard-debris burning bans unless a specific ban or a South Carolina Forestry Commission outdoor burning ban states otherwise. Sec. 30-107(b) additionally bars adding combustible material to any open fire, including a recreational fire, between official sunset and the following sunrise, except fires for food preparation, human warmth, or the recreational fires defined in this article.

Sec. 30-109 requires that any open burning, recreational fires included, be constantly attended by a competent adult at least 18 years old until fully extinguished, with a connected water hose or other extinguishing equipment on hand. Sec. 30-111 lets the county fire chief or designee use air quality standards, fire danger indexes, or Forestry Commission red flag alerts to judge when outdoor fires, including recreational fires, become hazardous enough to prohibit outright. Sec. 30-116 makes the article control over conflicting state law only where state law permits local rules to prevail; otherwise state law governs.