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

112, 153A-123 and 153A-140 to protect public safety, health and welfare in the unincorporated sections of the county; the article does not reach incorporated towns like Jacksonville or Swansboro, which set their own rules. Section 14-183(a) states the baseline rule bluntly: "All open burning is prohibited except as provided herein," and any burning that is not specifically authorized still has to comply with state law. The section also bars burning of non-vegetative material outright: garbage, household trash, lumber and any synthetic material, including tires, asphalt shingles, treated wood and electrical insulation as defined in § 14-182, can never be burned outdoors regardless of the reason.

The narrow list of permitted burning in § 14-183(b) covers only leaves and yard trash from a private residence burned on that same premises when no public pick-up service is available, camp and recreational fires, firefighter training burns, and state-regulated prescribed burning; each is still barred if it creates a "nuisance" as defined in § 14-182 (noxious odor, visibility impairment, soot or ash reaching another property). Enforcement under § 14-184 rests with environmental enforcement officers in the planning and development department, the county sheriff's department, and fire marshals, who can issue a written warning for a first offense before citing repeat violators into district court.

Section 14-185 layers civil penalties of $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second, and $500 for each later offense on top of misdemeanor criminal exposure of up to 30 days in jail. Section 14-186 makes these remedies cumulative with any other nuisance-abatement power the county already holds.