South Carolina officially under burn ban over ‘particularly volatile’ conditions

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — The South Carolina Forestry Commission has issued a statewide burn ban that went into effect Friday afternoon.

The burn ban for all counties started at 4 p.m. Some counties, such as Georgetown and Beaufort, had already implemented partial or full burn bans following a Red Flag Fire Alert that was issued just days ago.

A burn ban from the forestry commission prohibits all outdoor burning; this includes yard debris burning, prescribed burning, campfires, bonfires and recreational fires in all unincorporated areas of the state.

The ban doesn’t apply to fires used for food preparation or used in “appropriate enclosures,” such as portable fireplaces, chimneys or permanent fire pits made of stone, masonry, metal or any other noncombustible material that conforms with South Carolina codes.

This comes amid an ongoing drought, with forecasters not seeing much in the way of rain in the coming days after an already extended period of dry weather.

Combined with what the commission is calling dangerously low humidity, which will go below 20% in some areas, as well as dry fuels and gusty winds, conditions are “particularly volatile” and at great risk of causing wildfires.

The commission also released a reminder that escaped debris burns are, by far, the top cause of South Carolina’s wildfires, igniting more than all other causes combined, making it especially important to comply with the burn ban at this time.

“In addition to the intensifying drought conditions, the weather we’re going to see statewide over the next several days makes it ripe for any fire that starts to burn intensely and move fast,” South Carolina Forestry Commission Fire Chief Darryl Jones said. “While these conditions can make wildfires ignite easily anywhere and make it more challenging for firefighters to contain, we’re really concerned about areas where events like Hurricane Helene and recent ice damage have led to higher amounts of fuel. This burning ban is necessary to limit ignitions to the maximum extent possible to prevent severe wildfires for public safety purposes.”

The burn ban will stay in place until further notice, which the forestry commission will give as a formal announcement once conditions are safe again.