Fire Pit Regulations in North Carolina (NC)

Three Rulebooks, and the 100-Foot Line That Separates Them

North Carolina splits backyard fire between three agencies. The N.C. Forest Service runs burn permits and burn bans under G.S. Chapter 106, Article 78 ("Regulation of Open Fires"). The Division of Air Quality decides what may be burned at all under 15A NCAC 02D .1903. And your local fire code official enforces Section 307 of the North Carolina Fire Code, which sets the size, distance, and attendance rules for a recreational fire. For a homeowner the permit question turns on one sentence in G.S. 106-950(a): the Article "does not apply to any fires started, or caused to be started, within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling house" if the fire is confined "within an enclosure from which burning material may not escape" or kept "within a protected area upon which a watch is being maintained" with fire-protection equipment.

• A contained pit near the house needs no state permit. A manufactured fire pit, chiminea, or masonry fireplace within 100 feet of your home is an enclosure under § 106-950(a), and subsection (a2) separately exempts fires "for cooking, warming, or ceremonial events" on the same terms unless the Commissioner has banned burning. The air rule agrees: § .1903(b)(3) allows "camp fires and fires used solely for outdoor cooking and other recreational purposes, ceremonial occasions, or for human warmth and comfort" without an air permit, provided they "do not create a nuisance and do not use synthetic materials, refuse, or salvageable materials for fuel."
• Beyond 100 feet, or in the woods, the permit regime kicks in. In the 79 ordinary counties, G.S. 106-943(b) requires a permit to start a fire "in any woodland under the protection of the Department or within 500 feet of any such woodland" during "the hours starting at midnight and ending at 4:00 P.M." In the 21 eastern high hazard counties, G.S. 106-942 drops the hours limit; land-clearing burns over five acres need a special permit, may start only between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., and must sit 500 feet from dwellings.
• The Fire Code permits only bonfires. Section 307.2 requires a permit from the fire code official "prior to kindling a fire for recognized silvicultural or range or wildlife management practices, prevention or control of disease or pests, or a bonfire." A recreational fire is not on that list. Local ordinances can add their own permit; § 106-949 says the Article does not limit them.

The Numbers: 3 × 2 Feet, 25 Feet Open, 15 Feet in a Container

The 2018 North Carolina Fire Code is still the enforced edition: the Office of State Fire Marshal's April 2025 notice confirms that under S.L. 2025-2 "the 2018 North Carolina State Building Code remains in effect." The Town of Southern Pines reproduces Section 307 on its open-burning information form, and Charlotte and Raleigh quote the same sections.

• Size: a recreational fire has a fuel area of 3 feet or less in diameter and 2 feet or less in height, used "for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth or similar purposes" (code definition as restated by Charlotte). Larger is a bonfire.
• Distance: recreational fires "shall not be conducted within 25 feet (7620 mm) of a structure or combustible material," and conditions that could let the fire spread within 25 feet "shall be eliminated prior to ignition" (307.4.2). Open burning generally must be 50 feet from any structure (307.4), except "fires in approved containers that are not less than 15 feet" away. Bonfires: 50 feet unless contained in a barbecue pit (307.4.1).
• Portable outdoor fireplaces: use "in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions" and not "within 15 feet (3048 mm) of a structure or combustible material," with an exception for units "used at one and two-family dwellings" (307.4.3). Do not read the exception as a license to put a pit against the siding: Charlotte applies 15 feet at every address and Raleigh says 25 feet for any fire pit.
• Attendance: the fire "must be constantly attended and supervised until the fire has been completely extinguished," with "a portable fire extinguisher or other approved extinguishing equipment, such as a garden hose" at hand (Southern Pines form, restating 307.5). The fire code official may order any open burning extinguished if it creates a hazard (307.3), and open burning is prohibited outright "when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous" (307.1.1).
• Fuel: clean wood only. The Division of Air Quality's open-burning page says "If it doesn't grow, don't burn it." Trash, plastic, paper, treated or coated wood, tires, and shingles are always illegal, and violators "can be fined up to $25,000."

Yard Debris Is a Different Fire

Burning leaves and brush is where most North Carolina wildfires start, and the rules are tighter. Under § .1903(b)(1) a residential yard-waste fire is legal without an air permit only if the material "originates on the premises of private residences and is burned on those premises," "there are no public pickup services available," nothing non-vegetative goes in, the fire is "initiated no earlier than 8:00 a.m." with nothing added "between 6:00 p.m. on one day and 8:00 a.m. on the following day," it creates no nuisance, and no agency has banned burning. Yard-waste fires may not be started on a day forecast "Code Orange or above"; campfires and cooking fires are exempt from that air-quality-day rule.

• The permit is free and is a notification, not permission. The Forest Service's permit page says a permit "is not a request for permission to burn but is instead a notification that a burn may occur," that "By law, we are required to provide a permit to any individual who asks for one," and § 106-950(b) bars any charge. Get one at apps.ncagr.gov/burnpermits or from a county ranger, and "Burn only during the duration indicated on your permit application." A permit "can be canceled if fire danger is too high."
• No permit, no leniency. Under § 106-947 the person responsible for an unpermitted fire must extinguish it immediately or follow the ranger's directions; otherwise the Department may put it out and recover its costs. The Forest Service's outdoor fire safety page adds: keep a campfire small, clear litter in a 10-foot circle, never leave it unattended, and drown and stir the ashes until cold.
• Penalties: any violation of Article 78 or a permit is "a Class 3 misdemeanor" (G.S. 106-948), "separate and apart and not in lieu of" the civil air-quality penalties and on top of suppression-cost liability. An unintentional setback shortfall within "five percent (5%) of the required setback" is not a violation.

Burn Bans: The State Stops at 100 Feet, Your Fire Marshal Does Not

During "periods of hazardous forest fire conditions or during air pollution episodes," the Commissioner of Agriculture can prohibit open burning statewide or by county under G.S. 106-944, "regardless of whether a permit is required"; existing permits are cancelled under § 106-946. Because Article 78 does not apply within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling, a state ban by itself does not reach a backyard pit. In practice it does, because fire marshals issue a parallel local ban for that zone. Asheville's Fire Marshal's Office said so during the November 2021 statewide ban: the state ban "does not apply to a fire within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling," local agencies have jurisdiction there, and the city's ban therefore covered small recreational fires including "those used in backyard fire pits," with campfires "not exempt from the burn ban." Grills were still allowed. Durham County's March 2026 countywide ban makes the same point: "burn bans may be enacted at a local level within 100 feet of a structure."

Check two places before lighting anything in dry weather: the N.C. Forest Service (subscribe to its wildfire and burn ban email/text alerts from the NCFS site) and your city or county fire marshal, who may have banned pits even when the state has not.

What Cities Add

• Charlotte: the Fire Marshal's Office requirements sheet (rev. Jan. 2020) tracks the state code: 25 feet from structures and combustibles, fuel area no more than 3 feet across and 2 feet high, "Only solid fuels are allowed (no rubbish)," dry grass cleared "a minimum of 10 feet around the fire area," constant attendance "by a competent adult," and an extinguisher or garden hose "in place for immediate use." Portable outdoor fireplaces: 15 feet, same attendance rules. No household trash, yard debris, or construction material. Questions: 704-336-2101.
• Raleigh: the city's Fire Pits and Open Burning Safety page says "It is illegal to burn trash or debris in the City of Raleigh"; the only permitted fires are for heating or cooking, kept to recreational size, "at least 25 feet from any structure," constantly attended, lit with dry wood only: "Never use accelerants, garbage or garden clippings." Ordinance Sec. 7-2005 bars burning leaves or limbs without special permission, and curbside yard-waste pickup already makes it illegal under the state rule. The department's common fire questions page quotes Section 307.4.3 and its one- and two-family exception. Office of the Fire Marshal: 919-996-6392.
• Wilmington: the strictest big city. The fire department's FAQ says the ordinance "prohibits any kind of outside fire unless you are cooking" in an approved container such as a grill. Code Sec. 3-22 makes it "unlawful for any person to build, kindle or maintain a fire" in the city "without a permit issued by the Chief of the Fire Department or his designee," and "shall not apply to the use of open-flame cooking devices." A wood-burning pit inside city limits needs the chief's permit; ask before buying one.
• Asheville: standing rules follow the state Fire Code, but the city layers local bans quickly. Its Fire Marshal's Office 2021 burn-ban notice banned all open burning in city limits including backyard fire pits and campfires, kept grills legal, noted that outdoor burning is prohibited on Code Orange or Code Red air-quality days, and warned that "Anyone violating the burn ban faces fines" plus the cost of extinguishment.

Sources

• G.S. Chapter 106, Article 78 — Regulation of Open Fires (full article)
• G.S. 106-942 — High hazard counties; permits required; standards
• G.S. 106-943 — Open burning in non-high hazard counties (500-foot woodland rule, midnight–4 p.m.)
• G.S. 106-944 — Open burning prohibited statewide (Commissioner's burn bans)
• G.S. 106-948 — Penalties (Class 3 misdemeanor, 5% setback tolerance)
• G.S. 106-950 — Exempt fires (100 feet of an occupied dwelling; cooking, warming, ceremonial); no permit fees
• 15A NCAC 02D .1903 — Open Burning Without an Air Quality Permit (rule text)
• N.C. Division of Air Quality — Open Burning (what may be burned, hours, $25,000 penalty)
• N.C. Forest Service — What You Need to Know About Open Burning Permits
• N.C. Forest Service — Online Open Burning Permits
• N.C. Forest Service — Fire Safety Outdoors (campfire guidance, burn-ban alerts)
• N.C. Forest Service — division home (wildfire and burn ban updates)
• N.C. Office of State Fire Marshal — 2024 code delayed; 2018 code remains in effect (S.L. 2025-2)
• Town of Southern Pines — Open Burning Information (reproduces 2018 NC Fire Code Section 307)
• Charlotte Fire Department — Recreational Fires Requirements (rev. 1/1/2020)
• City of Raleigh — Fire Pits and Open Burning Safety
• City of Raleigh — Common Fire Questions (Section 307.4.3)
• City of Wilmington Fire Department — FAQs (Code Sec. 3-22)
• City of Asheville — Fire Marshal's Office issues burn ban (Nov. 2021)
• Durham County — countywide burn ban (March 23, 2026; local bans within 100 feet of a structure)

Statutes, rules, and city guidance last reviewed October 2026.