Burning Ban Lifted

State officials have deemed it safe for open burning effective Saturday but, local fire officials who spent time fighting brush fires early last month say lifting the burn ban again may be premature.

A New Hanover County fire ranger said, “It’s not the best day to lift the burn ban, but it takes a while to lift it and to put it into place, so hopefully people will use a little common sense and not burn today.”

Brunswick and Pender counties have lifted their local burn ban but, New Hanover county will keep it’s burn ban in place due to an extreme fire danger with high winds and a low humidity. State officials decided to lift the ban because they want people to burn any excess debris on their property that could become fuel for a dangerous wildfire.

Residents with a permit can only burn one hundred feet away from an occupied dwelling and if you burn, they recommend keeping tools like a shovel and a garden hose handy to keep the fire under control.

For more information go to nchfirerescue.org.