SC Forestry Commission to lift burning ban for Georgetown County
COLUMBIA–According to the South Carolina Forestry Commission, the State Forester’s Burning Ban will be lifted for Georgetown County, effective at 8 a.m. Sunday, March 9th.
Horry County will remain under the burning ban until further notice.
The statewide ban was issued March 1st to ease the strain on firefighting personnel and law enforcement officials – from both the Forestry Commission and from local fire departments – many of whom were dispatched to more than 100 wildfires that ignited that day.
The Forestry Commission is lifting the ban for Georgetown County due to improving weather conditions, increased confidence in containment of the Arcadia Plantation Drive Fire near Georgetown and the return of firefighting personnel from the Covington Drive Fire to their home units.
Underlying conditions, however, still warrant the need for caution on the part of those who choose to conduct outdoor burning, as drought and elevated fire risk are expected for the rest of March continuing through April.
Horry County remains under the ban because it is still experiencing high and/or complex wildfire activity. The 2,000+ acre Covington Drive Fire just outside Myrtle Beach remains the largest active incident in the state, involving hundreds of personnel and resources as part of the response effort.
Citizens who may plan to conduct outdoor burning of residential yard debris or prescribed burns must still notify the Forestry Commission before doing so. Notification procedures as well as mandatory precautions for conducting burns may be found on the SCFC website: https://www.scfc.gov/
