Open Letter
Cooler weather, shorter day length, and football mean one thing. Fall is here.
This time of year produces amazing leaf colors as the hardwood trees pull their resources back in preparation for winter.
As the leaves change from their beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow, magenta, and even pink, they slowly fade to brown and eventually fall to the ground. The inevitable raking of leaves is one of the tasks many around the state will undertake this fall.
If you plan to burn your leaves, the Forestry Commission wants to make you aware of some things that must be done.
State law requires that you make a notification by calling the automated toll-free number for your county. That phone number can be found on the Forestry Commission website at https://www.scfc.gov/protection/fire-burning/how-to-notify. This notification is only good for the day of the burn.
Only vegetative debris can be burned unless prior approval is obtained from DHEC (Dept. of Health & Environmental Control). State air quality regulations must be followed, as well as all county or local outdoor regulations. The general burning notification is also not valid inside city or town limits. Make sure to burn only small leaf piles at a time. Postpone burning on very windy days. Each pile must have an adequate fire break around the area being burned. You must also have an adequate means to keep the fire under control (garden hose, rake, watering pot, etc.), and stay with it until it is completely safe. Most wildfires (98 percent) are human-caused. That means that many of them can be prevented. The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is certainly true. By taking a few precautions, and following state law, you can have a safe and successful yard debris burn.
Brad Bramlett
