Outdoor burning rules in Guilford County, NC — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Open burning in unincorporated Guilford County is limited to leaves and yard vegetation, burned only between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. A North Carolina Forest Service permit is required. Burning garbage, lumber, plastics, tires, or any man-made material is always illegal. Greensboro, High Point, Jamestown, and Gibsonville ban yard-waste burning
Open burning is governed by NC air-quality rule 15A NCAC 02D .1900 and the NC Forest Service. Only vegetation grown on the property (leaves, limbs, plant matter) may be burned, and only between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM, with no new material added after 6:00 PM. It is always illegal to burn 'garbage, paper or cardboard, tires, building materials including lumber and wood scraps, wire, plastics and other synthetic materials, shingles, paint and household chemicals.' A burn permit from the NC Forest Service (free, available online or from a local ranger) is required, and the fire must be attended with tools on hand. No burning is allowed at all during a burn ban or when the Air Quality Forecast is
The NC Forest Service and Guilford County Environmental Services enforce open-burning rules; illegal burning can bring civil penalties and, for serious or repeat violations or escaped fires, fines that can reach $25,000 or more plus liability for suppression costs and
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See how Guilford County's outdoor burning rules stack up against other locations.
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