In response to the April wildfires, a permanent "burning ban" has been put in place by the City of North Myrtle Beach.
The new burning restrictions mean that open burning is prohibited in the City of North Myrtle Beach.
The city defines open burning as the intentional setting of a fire outside of a structure.
While a ban on burning is now in effect, there are several exceptions to the ordinance passed including permitting fires set for cooking of food, such as outdoor grills, fires set for recreational purposes that are 20 feet away from structures or trees, fires set for training firefighters, fires set for the disposal of debris from an officially declared disaster, and backfiring to contain an ignited fire.
As a result of the new ordinance, residents can no longer burn leaves, tree branches or yard trimmings.
Workers in the city cannot burn construction waste either.
City leaders say the burning ban was proposed after it was recommended by the task force that investigated the April wildfires.
However, the fires that destroyed more than 75 homes in the Barefoot community in North Myrtle Beach started outside city limits.
Horry County does not have an open burning ban, but city spokesperson Nicole Aiello says North Myrtle Beach is going to discuss its ban with county leaders.
“We do have some mutual aid that we do with Horry County and with Briarcliffe Acres and we're sending them our new open burning ban policy now so we can have those discussions and talk about what we would like to see when it's near North Myrtle Beach during that mutual aid process,” Aiello said.
People who violate the new restrictions face a fine of up to $500, imprisonment up to 30 days, or both.
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