Cliff Marshall

SC Forestry Commission to issue statewide burning ban, effective at 4 p.m. today COLUMBIA—The South Carolina Forestry Commission is issuing a State Forester’s Burning Ban for all counties, effective at 4 p.m. today. A State Forester’s Burning Ban prohibits all outdoor burning, including yard debris burning, prescribed burning, campfires, bonfires and other recreational fires in all unincorporated areas of the state. The ban does not apply to fires used for the preparation of food or fires used in appropriate enclosures (portable outdoor fireplaces, chimineas or permanent fire pits constructed of stone, masonry, metal or other noncombustible material that conforms with all applicable South Carolina fire codes). Forestry Commission officials say weather conditions over the next several days present a greatly elevated potential for fires igniting easily and spreading rapidly. Dangerously low relative humidities – reaching below 20% in some areas – combined with extremely dry fuels statewide and gusty winds will create a particularly volatile mix of wildfire risk factors throughout the weekend. "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. "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 ban will stay in effect until further notice, which will come in the form of an official announcement from the Forestry Commission. Shareable link: scfc.gov/wp-content/uploads/…