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

Article IV of Chapter 14, adopted by ordinance on December 3, 2007, governs open burning across unincorporated Franklin County. Section 14-79(b) ties the county's ban to the state forest service's burning ban, directing the fire marshal's office to issue a ban on all open burning within 100 feet of a structure and requiring that fires be extinguished immediately once the ban is in effect; grilling or using an outdoor cooker remains permitted as long as someone keeps watch over it at all times. Section 14-79(c) gives the fire marshal's office independent authority to issue its own ban on outdoor burning within 100 feet of a structure during hazardous forest fire conditions or air pollution episodes, without waiting on the state.

Section 14-79(a) defines nuisance burning to include any burn whose smoke or odor creates a neighborhood nuisance, aggravates a documented medical condition, impairs visibility, deposits soot or ash on someone else's property, or hangs low or crosses a street and creates a hazard, and section 14-79(f) requires illegal fires, nuisance burns and any fire violating the article to be extinguished immediately. Section 14-80 gives the fire marshal, the responding fire chief or officer in charge, and the county sheriff authority to order or carry out extinguishment of a violating fire, and section 14-81 makes it unlawful to obstruct that extinguishment or disobey a lawful command from any of them.

Section 14-82 sets enforcement: a first offense may draw a warning citation, a violation is a misdemeanor under G.S. 14-4, and a civil penalty of $100.00 applies, due within 30 days or subject to a civil debt action including attorney fees, with each day of violation a separate offense.