Burn Ban Lifted for Dare, Hyde Counties

June 10, 2019 | Local News

The burn ban was issued to prevent wildfires, like the 2015 fire in soundside Avon that affected 20 acres. It has been lifted as of Monday at 5 p.m.

The burn ban issued by the North Carolina Forest Service for 18 counties, including Dare and Hyde counties, has been lifted, per an announcement from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.

The ban, which applied to all open fires, will be lifted as of 5 p.m. on Monday, June 10, for the following counties: Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Dare, Duplin, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Pitt, Tyrrell and Washington.

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS) has also lifted its beach fire ban starting at 5 p.m. on Monday.

The North Carolina Forest Service burn ban went into effect on May 30 due to extremely dry conditions in the Eastern N.C. area.

“We’re thankful for the recent rainfall and improved conditions which have lessened much of the wildfire risk in the Coastal area,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Even with the burn ban in place, wildland firefighters with our N.C. Forest Service responded to 53 wildfires covering 342 acres within those burn ban counties. The ban’s purpose was to prevent human-caused fires, freeing up responders to focus on wildfires naturally caused by lightning.”

“Residents and visitors are still reminded to take precautions when conducting any open burning and to assure it’s being done a safe distance from any structures, to be controlled at all times, and have a water source or tools readily available to help control the fire,” said Dare County Fire Marshall Steven Kovacs in a statement. “Call 911 if the fire gets out of control. Individuals are fully responsible for the control and damages that may occur for fires they are responsible for.”

The online burn permit system is open again statewide. All burn permits previously granted within the 18 burn ban counties were canceled when the ban was implemented so new permit applications must be submitted. Online burn permits are available at www.ncforestservice.gov or in-person from local agent within each county.

Residents with questions regarding their specific county can contact their county ranger with the N.C. Forest Service or their county fire marshal’s office.