Obtaining a Burn Permit

The Georgia Rules for Air Quality define open burning as any outdoor fire from which the products of combustion are emitted directly into the open air without passing through a stack, chimney, or duct. All outdoor burning of natural vegetative materials is considered open burning and requires a burn permit.

Under Senate Bill 119, GA code section 12-6-90 was changed to eliminate the need to notify the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) by the person, firm, corporation, or association who intends to burn hand-piled natural vegetation/yard debris.

Any local burning ordinances are applicable and may be more restrictive than state law. In addition, restrictions on burning in 54 northern Georgia counties under the Environmental Protection Division summer burn ban from May 1-September 30 continue to be in effect.

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HAND-PILED NATURAL VEGETATION/YARD DEBRIS

It advises burners to carefully plan their burn by remembering to “Take Five,” and follow an easy to remember “S-S-T-A-R” formula:

S – Space – 25+ feet between fire and woodlands
S – Space – 50+ feet between fire and structures
T – Time – sunrise to sunset
A – Attendance – Person responsible on-site until the fire is extinguished
R – Reasonable precautions – Tools/measures in place to prevent escaped fire. Some examples include:

Continuous pressurized water source on site;
Man-made or natural barrier to contain fire, such as bare soil, rocks, bricks, burn barrel, etc.;
Hand tools or fire-containing equipment on site, such as rake, shovel, garden hoe, etc.;
Weather awareness – to NWS red flag warnings, High Fire Danger designation of Very High or Extreme days and other hazardous conditions, low relative humidity, high winds, etc.

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AGRICULTURE, LAND CLEARING AND VEGETATIVE STORM DEBRIS

Burners are required to contact their county forest ranger to provide notification and/or obtain a burn permit.

Jefferson County & Glascock County

Chief Ranger Brandon Davis

2755 Mennonite Church Rd

Stapleton GA 30823

bdavis@gfc.state.ga.us

478-625-3319

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Burke County

Chief Ranger Myron Williams

1508 Hwy 25 South

Waynesboro GA 30830

burkecounty@gfc.state.ga.us

706-554-2310

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Columbia County & Richmond County

Chief Ranger Larry Felix

5887 Wrightsboro Rd.

Harlem GA 30814

lfelixjr@gfc.state.ga.us

706-556-3962

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McDuffie County & Warren County

Chief Ranger Marc Peebles

2088 Warrenton Hwy

Thomson GA 30824

mpeebles@gfc.state.ga.us

706-595-4661

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Washington County

Chief ranger Jason Reese

1941 Hwy 68 North

Sandersville GA 31082

jreese@gfc.state.ga.us

478-240-3027

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Permits are good only for the day they are issued. Unlawful Burn Notices may be issued, and suppression charges may apply if GA code section 12-6-90 is not followed and wildfire results.

Obtain a burn permit.

Contact GFC by phone at 1-877-OK2-BURN (652-2876) or visit the GFC website at www.gatrees.org to obtain a permit online.

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BURNING WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF WRENS

It is permitted to burn within the city limits of Wrens as long as the Georgia Forestry Commission guidelines and the City of Wrens Ordinance (Sec. 16.1. – Outdoor burning) are followed.

The only items allowed to be burned within the city limits are:

· yard waste

· leaves

· pine straw

· pine cones

· trees

· logs

· wood

· brush

· grass clippings

· stumps

· branches

City of Wrens Code of Ordinance (Sec. 16-1. - Outdoor burning)

Outdoor burning of household domestic garbage, refuse, rubbish, tires and trash is prohibited within the city limits.
Outdoor burning of building materials on construction sites is prohibited within the city limits.
For any fires found in violation of this section, the police chief, fire chief or building inspector shall direct the extinguishment of the fire.
The following activities are exempt from the prohibition contained in this section:

Carrying out recognized agricultural procedures necessary for production or harvesting of crops. Georgia Forestry Burn Permit required.
Fires for recreational purposes (e.g., campfires) or for cooking food for immediate human consumption.
Fires set for purposes of training firefighting personnel when authorized by the appropriate governmental authority.
Operation of devices using open flames, such as tar kettles, blow torches, welding torches, portable heaters, and other flame-making equipment.
Outdoor burning, on the premises of origin, of yard waste, leaves, pine straw, pine cones, trees, logs, wood, brush, grass clippings, stumps, branches, and land clearing debris such as stumps, limbs, leaves.
Prescribed burning and slash burning. Georgia Forestry Burn Permit required.

5. Each day of a continuing violation shall be a separate and distinct violation and may be so punished.

(Code 2002, § 9-1-10; Ord. No. 03-009-2010, § 1(9-1-10), 9-14-2010; Ord. No. 2017-11-01 , § 2, 11-7-20

Georgia Forestry Commission

1-877-OK2BURN

1-877-652-2876

www.gfc.state.ga.us

www.gatrees.org

Georgia Environmental Protection Division

Open Burning Rules for Georgia

The Georgia Rules for Air Quality (391-3-1-.01(tt)) define open burning as any outdoor fire from which the products of combustion are emitted directly into the open air without passing through a stack, chimney, or duct. Such burning releases smoke, oxides of nitrogen, and other pollutants that have a negative impact on Georgia’s air quality. Georgia’s Open Burning Rules(391-3-1-.02(5)) were created to improve air quality in our state. Our department is dedicated to serving the community by providing the highest level of fire protection, emergency medical services, and public safety education. We employ highly trained and dedicated professionals who are committed to delivering the best possible service to our residents. Our state-of-the-art equipment and facilities enable us to respond quickly and effectively to any emergency. At Wrens Fire Rescue Fire Department, we are proud to serve and protect our community.

13 Legal Burn Types

Open burning in Georgia is prohibited with the exception of 13 types of legal burn activities: (1) reduction of leaf piles, yard debris, or hand-piled natural vegetation on premises, (2) agricultural procedures for production or harvesting of crops (if land tract is 5 acres or less), (3) burning vegetative material for agricultural operations (if land tract is greater than 5 acres), (4) prescribed burning, (5) recreational purposes and cooking, (6) fire-fighting training, (7) acquired structure burns, (8) vegetative debris from storms, (9) weed abatement, disease, and pest prevention, (10) open flame devices, (11), land clearing, construction, and right-of-way maintenance, (12) disposal of packaging materials for explosives, and (13) land clearing with an air curtain destructor.

Additional burning restrictions may apply based on the county and time of the year. The Director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division may waive these additional restrictions upon a determination that such open burning is necessary to protect public health, safety or welfare, or there are no reasonable alternatives.

It is unlawful in Georgia to burn man made materials such as tires, shingles, plastics, lumber, or household garbage, even in a burn barrel. For more information on backyard burning, please refer to the Hidden Hazards of Backyard Burning Brochure .

“Summer Burn Ban” (May 1 – September 30)

Air quality can deteriorate in the summer due to the formation of ground-level ozone. The Summer Burn Ban reduces ozone by prohibiting certain open burning activities from May 1 through September 30 in specific counties. During this period, the following open burning activities are prohibited in 54 counties : (1) reduction of leaves on premises, (7) acquired structure burns, (8) vegetative debris from storms, (9) weed abatement, disease, and pest prevention, (11), land clearing, construction, and right-of-way maintenance, and (13) land clearing with air curtain destructors.

Prescribed burning (4) is also prohibited in 19 counties that include Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton.

To learn more visit the Summer Burn Ban page or read our last press release (April 27, 2023).

Non-summer Burn Types (October 1 – April 30)

27 counties already subject to the summer burn ban with populations over 65,000, as listed in the 2010 Census, are limited to only ten of the thirteen open burning activities (burn types 1 through 7, 10, 12, and 13) from October 1 through April 30. To reduce fine particulate matter pollution in these counties from October through April, the following open burning activities are prohibited (8) vegetative debris from storms, (9) weed abatement, disease, and pest prevention, and (11) land clearing, construction, and right-of-way maintenance.

Air Curtain Destructor

Open burning for the purpose of (13) land clearing with an air curtain destructor requires a burn permit from the Georgia Forestry Commission. If you have questions about air curtain destructors read the ACD Operating Guide and Procedures or contact your local EPD district office.

Prescribed Burning

Prescribed burning serves many useful purposes including the maintenance and protection of commercial timber stands, land clearing for agriculture, the reduction of vegetative fuels for wildfire prevention, and the management of fire-dependent ecosystems. Georgia’s Open Burning Rules define prescribed burning as “the controlled application of fire to existing vegetative fuels under specified environmental conditions and following appropriate precautionary measures, which causes the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and accomplishes one or more planned land management objectives as specified in paragraphs 12-6-146(3), (4), and (7) of the Georgia Prescribed Burning Act or to mitigate catastrophic wildfires.” The framework of procedures and requirements for managing smoke from prescribed fires is detailed in Georgia’s Basic Smoke Management Plan.

Obtaining a Burn Permit

Georgia Forestry Commission

Georgia Environmental Protection Division

Open Burning Rules for Georgia

13 Legal Burn Types

“Summer Burn Ban” (May 1 – September 30)

Non-summer Burn Types (October 1 – April 30)

Air Curtain Destructor

Prescribed Burning

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