COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Forestry Commission lifted the State Forester’s Burning Ban for all counties at 7 a.m. Friday.
Agency officials cited a combination of recent rain, elevated relative humidity, improved overnight recovery, and a lack of significant wind in the forecast as reasons to remove outdoor burning restrictions statewide.
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The decision to lift the ban comes as officials believe these conditions mitigate significant fire potential across the state. This move will allow outdoor burning to resume in areas that were previously restricted.
SCFC Fire Chief Darryl Jones addressed the current weather situation and its impact on fire potential.
“Many areas of the state have seen rainfall this week and higher relative humidity and fuel moisture continue to mitigate significant fire potential,” Jones said in a news release. “Though we expect even more rain across more of the state in the next week, people who choose to burn outdoors should still exercise vigilance as the rain we have received has not changed the state’s drought status.”
Despite the recent rainfall, South Carolina’s drought status remains unchanged. Citizens planning to conduct outdoor burning of residential yard debris or prescribed burns must notify the Forestry Commission before starting.
Citizens must notify the Forestry Commission before conducting any outdoor burning of residential yard debris or prescribed burns.