Lexington County, SC Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Lexington County, SC, also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance, set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Key Facts
- Ban authority
- County fire chief or designee
- Trigger
- Hazardous atmospheric/local conditions
- Always-banned materials
- Tires, treated wood, plastics, garbage
- Land-clearing burns
- Barred Apr 1–Oct 30 (ozone season)
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, fine or imprisonment
Summary
Lexington County's fire chief or designee can prohibit all open burning countywide whenever weather or local conditions make fires hazardous, and bans burning specific materials like tires, treated wood, and household garbage in any open fire.
(a)The county fire chief or designee may prohibit open burning when atmospheric conditions, local circumstances or other conditions exist that would make such fires hazardous. (b)The following materials shall not be burned in an open fire: Asphalt and asphaltic materials, paint, plastics, metals, treated wood, paper, petroleum products, demolition debris, non-vegetative material, dead animals, construction debris except as listed in section 30-113, household chemicals, household garbage, tires, trade waste, and cardboard.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 20).
Full Breakdown
Under Sec. 30-110, the county fire chief or designee may halt open burning outright when atmospheric conditions, local circumstances, or other conditions make fires hazardous, layering a discretionary countywide burn ban on top of the baseline rules in Article IV. The same section bans burning asphalt, paint, plastics, metals, treated wood, petroleum products, demolition debris, dead animals, household chemicals, garbage, tires, trade waste, and cardboard in any open fire, regardless of conditions. Land-clearing and right-of-way burning is separately barred during ozone season, April 1 through October 30.
Violations & Fines
Violating Article IV is a misdemeanor under Sec. 30-105, punishable by fine or imprisonment per Sec. 1-8; defying a fire chief's hazard-condition ban or burning a prohibited material risks citation and forced extinguishment of the fire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Lexington County ban open burning during dry or windy weather?
Are recreational fires exempt from a county burn ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lexington County
How Lexington County compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Lexington County to another location·View the South Carolina fire regulations overview
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