BURNING BAN IN EFFECT
A burning ban goes into effect at 5:00 p.m. today (April 3, 2020). All burning permits are invalid, stated David Huffman, Alexander County Ranger with the North Carolina Forest Service.
NC Dept. of Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler announced the move to cancel all burning permits and prohibit all open burning for the entire counties of Alexander,
Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Union, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey. This ban on open burning is effective at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 2020 and shall remain in effect until further notice.
The burn ban does not apply to fires started within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling. Fires within that 100 feet must be confined within an enclosure from which burning material may not escape or within a protected area upon which a watch is being maintained and which is provided with adequate fire protection equipment. The local Fire Marshal has authority to issue a burn ban within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling.
