Beaufort County, SC Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Beaufort County Code of Ordinances § 38-151 bars kindling, maintaining or authorizing open burning anywhere in the unincorporated county except as allowed in article V, defining open burning as outdoor burning of leaves, tree branches, yard trimmings, clippings and other natural vegetation. Section 38-152 permits residential open burning of vegetative matter originating on the premises, but the fire must sit at least 75 feet from any structure or road, with provisions to keep it from spreading within that 75-foot buffer. the next day, and the fire must be fully extinguished with no smoke by official sunset.

C. Code § 48-35-10 (§ 38-153). Section 38-154 requires a competent attendant with a garden hose or other extinguishing equipment on hand at all times and notice to the state forester at 1-800-895-7062. Section 38-155 lets the county fire code official prohibit burning during hazardous weather and bars burning anything but on-site vegetative material. Section 38-156 makes a South Carolina Forestry Commission red flag alert an automatic hazardous condition halting all open burning countywide, and lets a fire chief or county fire official impose an emergency ban of up to 30 days.

Burning is also barred in county drainage ditches and on county roads and rights-of-way (§ 38-157), and exemptions cover food preparation, campfires, religious or ceremonial fires, human-warmth fires, forestry/wildlife/agriculture burning authorized by the state forestry commission, storm-debris burning with fire official approval, and firefighter training (§ 38-158).