Mebane, NC Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Mebane City Code § 16-1 flatly bans burning trash, refuse, shavings, paper, leaves, litter or other material of any kind outside of any structure, or on or in any street, sidewalk, alley, lot or yard, within the city limits. The city council enacted this version on September 9, 2019 (Ord. No. OA-19-04), repealing the older § 16-1 that had let residents apply for open-burning permits; that permit option no longer exists inside Mebane. Section 16-2 makes violating any provision of Chapter 16, Fire Prevention and Protection, a misdemeanor, punishable under the general penalty section, § 1-6, which sets a $500.00 civil penalty as the default remedy unless the code states a criminal penalty, plus an added $100.00 if a citation goes unanswered for 15 days and a possible $500.00 fine or up to 30 days in jail under G.S.

14-4 for willfully refusing to pay. Because Chapter 16 specifically labels this a misdemeanor, the city can pursue criminal enforcement rather than only the civil route. The ban sits in Article I, General, of the fire prevention chapter, ahead of the fire pit and recreational-fire allowance in § 16-3, and the city adopted the article under its state fire-protection authority, G.S. 160A-291 through 160A-293. There is no seasonal exception, permit process or size threshold written into § 16-1: any outdoor burning of trash, leaves or yard litter, however small, on any private lot or public right-of-way is covered.