Beginning July 1st, 2021, property owners planning to burn hand-piled leaves, or naturally occurring yard debris are no longer required to formally notify the Georgia Forestry Commission.
Property owners planning to burn machine-piled vegetation, or plan to burn agriculture, silviculture, land-clearing burns, and storm debris, are required to notify the Georgia Forestry Commission and obtain a burn permit. Call 1-800-GA-TREES (1-800-428-7337).
Property owners planning to burn debris MUST take full responsibility for keeping their fires contained and are required to ensure that the five safety standards are followed.
- Space – Burn location must be no less than 25 feet from any woodlands, forestland, or field that contains brush, grass, or other flammable material.
- Space – Burn location must be no less than 50 feet from structures, which includes homes, outbuildings, sheds, and barns.
- Time – Burning must take place between sunrise and sunset.
- Attendance – The person responsible must attend burning at all times until the fire is completely extinguished and there is no risk for burning to escape control.
- Reasonable Precautions – The person responsible must take reasonable and necessary precautions to prevent fire escape or spread from the original location.
There are often regional bans on controlled burns during seasons of dry weather or at other times when Fire Danger is Class 4 or Class 5. Do not request a burn permit, and certainly do not burn, during these days. The day before the intended burn, check the Next-Day Fire Danger Forecast and if that forecast is not Class 4 or 5 and there are no bans, then request the burn permit that evening after dark (the permit will be issued for the next day) or on the morning of the day of the intended burn (issued for that day). On the day of the burn, check the Same-Day Fire Danger Forecast before you burn.
For more information, please visit the Georgia Forestry Commission’s website at https://www.gatrees.org.
Please notify Central 911 Dispatch at their non-emergency number, 706-743-8101, of the location and intended time of the burn. Neighbors and passers-by may report your fire and if Central 911 Dispatch does not know of your permitted burn, they will of course page out a full emergency response.