Frequently Asked Questions

The North Carolina Forest Service requires a permit for all burning outside of 100 feet from an occupied dwelling. An open burning permit can be obtained online through the North Carolina Forest Service website. Permit holders are encouraged to contact the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center at 910-253-7490 and let them know you have obtained an N.C Forest Service burn permit and will be burning.

To contact the N.C. Forest Service Brunswick County Office or find additional contacts, visit the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website.

The Brunswick County Fire Marshal's Office does not issue open burning permits.

The Brunswick County Fire Marshal's Office does not require a burn permit for open burning of natural vegetation within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling located within the unincorporated areas of Brunswick County. If you are located within a municipality (an incorporated city, town, or village), check with your local municipal official regarding regulations and open burning permits.

All open burning of natural vegetation outside 100 feet of an occupied dwelling requires a permit from the North Carolina Forest Service. In addition, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality may require additional permits for certain types and locations of burning. 

View the Online Burning Permit System website.

When weather or other conditions make controlled burns dangerous, the North Carolina Forest Service or local authorities (counties and municipalities) may enact a burn ban or burning restrictions.

The North Carolina Forest Service has jurisdiction over open burning outside 100 feet of an occupied dwelling. Only the North Carolina Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has the authority to issue a burn ban for areas in Brunswick County outside 100 feet of an occupied dwelling.

Local government agencies have jurisdiction over open burning within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling.

• Brunswick County has jurisdiction over all burning within 100 feet of any structure within the unincorporated areas of the county. Only Brunswick County has the authority to implement a ban on all burning within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling within the unincorporated areas of the county (areas not in incorporated city, town, or village limits).
• Municipalities have jurisdiction over all burning within 100 feet of any structure within their incorporated city, town, or village limits. Only municipalities have the authority to implement a ban on all burning within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling within their municipal limits. If you live in a municipality in Brunswick County, check with your local municipal official regarding burn bans or open burning regulations.

Burn bans issued by the Brunswick County Fire Marshal’s Office prohibit all open burning within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling within the unincorporated areas of the county (areas not in incorporated city, town, or village limits).

Firepits used for recreational burning are considered open burning and are not exempt from countywide burn bans. If you are located within the unincorporated areas of the county, you cannot use a firepit for recreational burning within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling during a Brunswick County burn ban. 

• If a burn ban has also been issued by the North Carolina Forest Service, then you cannot use a firepit for recreational burning anywhere in the unincorporated areas of the county during the ban.
• If you live within a municipality (an incorporated city, town, or village), check with your local municipal official regarding local ordinances and regulations.

Burn bans issued by Brunswick County Fire Marshal’s Office do not prohibit burning that is associated with outdoor cooking (i.e., grills or portable gas stoves) within the unincorporated areas of the county; however, all outdoor cooking activities must be constantly attended. Campfires are considered open burning and are not exempt from countywide burn bans.

If you live within the unincorporated areas of the county (areas not in incorporated city, town, or village limits), then you do not need a permit for a backyard firepit.

• Per Article 3, Section 1-11-47 of the Brunswick County Solid Waste Ordinance, “campfires and fires used solely for outdoor cooking and other recreational purposes, or for ceremonial occasions, or for human warmth and comfort and which do not create a nuisance and do not use synthetic materials or refuse or salvageable materials for fuel” are permissible within unincorporated areas of the county, unless prohibited by temporary burn bans.
• Bonfires, recreational fires, and portable outdoor fireplaces are subject to Chapter 3, Section 307 of the 2018 North Carolina Fire Code.

If you live within a municipality (an incorporated city, town, or village), check with your local municipal official regarding regulations and permits.

If you live in a community managed by a Homeowner’s Association (HOA) or Property Owner’s Association (POA), check with your HOA/POA board regarding regulations.

Find safety tips for firepits and other outdoor fires on the U.S. Fire Administration website.

Per North Carolina Air Quality Rules Section 1900 (15A NCAC 02D .1902), an Air Curtain Incinerator is “a stationary or portable combustion device that operates by directing a plane of high velocity forced draft air through a manifold head onto an open chamber, pit, or container with vertical walls to maintain a curtain of air over the surface of the pit and a recirculating motion of air under the curtain. These incinerators can be built above or below ground and be constructed with or without refractory walls and floors. These shall not include conventional combustion devices with enclosed fireboxes or controlled air technology such as mass burn, modular, or fluidized bed combustors.”

Air curtain incinerators used in Brunswick County are regulated by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Wilmington Regional Office.

Prescribed fires are planned and controlled fires that remove leaf litter, fallen twigs, and branches without burning adult trees. These fires release less heat and smoke than wildfires, and the particulate matter produced is too large to get deep into the lungs.

Because prescribed burns are the best way to prevent wildfires, they are becoming a common tool to protect residents from harmful wildfire smoke. The best way to protect yourself from smoke from a controlled burn is to stay inside, where modern HVAC systems can filter the air.

Prescribed burns are subject to the North Carolina Prescribed Burning Act. The North Carolina Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services regulates prescribed burning in North Carolina.

Learn more on our controlled burns webpage.

The Brunswick County Fire Marshal’s Office does not regulate or provide permits for open burning associated with land-clearing activities.

Per Article 3, Section 1-11-46 of the Brunswick County Solid Waste Ordinance, land-clearing is defined as, “the uprooting or clearing of vegetation in connection with construction for buildings, right-of-way, agricultural, residential, commercial, or industrial development, mining activities, or the initial clearing of vegetation to enhance property value, but does not include routine maintenance or property clean-up activities.”

Open burning associated with land-clearing activities requires a permit from the North Carolina Forest Service. If your burning activities are for land-clearing purposes AND encompass more than five contiguous acres, you must obtain a special permit from the North Carolina Forest Service that is not available online (N.C.G.S. 106-942).

Land-clearing burns are regulated by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ)'s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) and the N.C. Forest Service depending upon the location and type of open burning.