Durham County, NC Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 16-13, 'Bonfires and other outdoor fires,' bans kindling or maintaining any bonfire, rubbish fire, or other outdoor fire in the unincorporated county without a permit, and the fire marshal cannot issue that permit if the burn would violate a state or local air-quality open-burning regulation. Any permitted fire must be sited at least 100 feet from a structure with steps taken to keep it from spreading within that 100-foot radius, and the permit holder must notify every neighbor within a 100-foot radius who has an occupied dwelling on their property.

The fire must be constantly attended by a competent person with a garden hose or other extinguishing equipment on hand until it is fully out. Leaves, tree branches, and yard trimmings from a private residence may be burned on-site under this section only if no public curbside pickup service is available there, an important limit given Durham's countywide yard-waste collection. Burns within 500 feet of woodland, or more than 100 feet from a structure, additionally need a permit from the state Division of Forest Resources.

The fire marshal or sheriff's department can order any burn extinguished if it becomes a nuisance, ban all outdoor burning when weather makes it hazardous, and must halt every permitted burn the moment the state or a federal agency declares an air-pollution alert or emergency. A burn permit can also be denied, or conditioned on written neighbor consent, near a home where a doctor has certified a resident's medical condition can be aggravated by smoke.