The South Carolina Forestry Commission imposed a statewide burn ban Friday afternoon, prohibiting most outdoor burning in unincorporated areas as drought conditions, low humidity and gusty winds continue to heighten wildfire danger across the state.
The State Forester’s Burning Ban took effect at 4 p.m. on Mar. 27 and will remain in place until further notice, according to the commission.
The ban prohibits yard debris burning, prescribed burning, campfires, bonfires and other recreational fires in all counties. It does not apply to fires used for food preparation or fires contained in approved enclosures, including portable outdoor fireplaces, chimineas and permanent fire pits built of noncombustible materials that comply with South Carolina fire codes.
Forestry Commission officials said the next several days present a greatly elevated potential for fires to ignite easily and spread rapidly. The agency cited dangerously low relative humidity — expected to fall below 20% in some areas — along with extremely dry fuels statewide and gusty winds.
“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,” SCFC Fire Chief Darryl Jones said in the agency’s statement.
The burn ban follows a Red Flag Fire Alert issued earlier this week, when the Forestry Commission strongly discouraged outdoor burning but stopped short of a statewide prohibition.
In Clarendon County, fire officials had already warned residents that conditions were becoming increasingly dangerous. In a post issued before the burn ban took effect, Clarendon County Fire Rescue said it had responded to multiple grass fires that week and urged residents to avoid outdoor burning as fire danger remained very high.
Shortly after Friday’s statewide ban took effect, the department shared a reminder that the restriction applies in Clarendon County as well.
The Forestry Commission said the ban is necessary to limit ignitions as much as possible and reduce the risk of severe wildfires.
Residents are encouraged to monitor updates from the South Carolina Forestry Commission and local fire officials until the ban is lifted.
