The Georgia burn ban runs from May 1 through September 30 each year and restricts open burning in 54 counties across northern and central Georgia. During those five months, you cannot burn yard waste, storm debris, or land-clearing material in the covered counties, though campfires, cooking fires, and agricultural burning remain allowed. Separately, burning household trash or any man-made material is illegal everywhere in Georgia, every day of the year.
Which Counties Are Covered
The seasonal ban applies to 54 counties clustered around metro Atlanta and several other populated regions:1Environmental Protection Division. Summer Open Burning Ban
Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Columbia, Coweta, Crawford, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Fulton, Gordon, Gwinnett, Hall, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Lumpkin, Madison, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Paulding, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Putnam, Richmond, Rockdale, Spalding, Troup, Twiggs, Upson, Walker, and Walton.
If your county is not on that list, the seasonal ban does not apply to you. Most of southern Georgia falls outside the restricted zone. Statewide rules and local ordinances still govern any burning you do.
What You Cannot Burn Between May and September
In the 54 covered counties, from May 1 through September 30, the following types of open burning are prohibited:2Georgia Environmental Protection Division. Open Burning Rules for Georgia
- Hand-piled yard waste such as leaves, pine needles, and branches
- Storm debris including downed trees and vegetative material
- Land-clearing and construction debris, including burning with air curtain destructors
- Burning fields or lots for weed control or pest prevention
- Acquired structure burns, even those otherwise authorized by the EPD
During the ban window, this material has to be hauled to a disposal facility, chipped, or composted. Many municipalities offer curbside yard waste pickup or accept vegetative debris at transfer stations. Forestry mulching is an option for larger clearing jobs.
What You Can Still Burn
The ban targets waste disposal, not every outdoor flame. In the covered counties between May and September, you can still have:1Environmental Protection Division. Summer Open Burning Ban
- Campfires and cooking fires, as long as you are not using them to dispose of yard waste
- Open-flame devices like torches, portable heaters, and welding equipment
- Agricultural burning tied to crop production and harvesting
Even exempt fires need to stay contained and attended. They can still violate local ordinances or draw enforcement attention if they produce heavy smoke or escape the property.
Prescribed Burns in the Metro Atlanta Core
Prescribed burning for forestry management is allowed during the summer ban in 35 of the 54 restricted counties, but it is prohibited in 19 core metro Atlanta counties: Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton.2Georgia Environmental Protection Division. Open Burning Rules for Georgia Forestland managers in those 19 counties have to wait until October. The Georgia Forestry Commission offers a prescribed burn certification that can reduce liability if a burn escapes.3Georgia Forestry Commission. Prescribed Burn Certification
Household Trash and Man-Made Materials Are Never Legal
This one catches people who assume the summer ban is the only rule. Burning man-made materials is illegal in every Georgia county, every day of the year. Tires, shingles, plastics, treated lumber, and household garbage cannot go in an outdoor fire at any time, and a burn barrel does not change that.2Georgia Environmental Protection Division. Open Burning Rules for Georgia The only materials that can legally go into an outdoor fire in Georgia are natural vegetative materials, and even those are subject to permit rules and seasonal restrictions.
Burn Permits and Daily Fire Danger
Outside the summer ban window, most outdoor burning still requires notification to or a permit from the Georgia Forestry Commission. What you need depends on what you are burning:4Georgia Forestry Commission. Burn Permits and Notifications
- Hand-piled yard debris like leaves and limbs needs no permit.
- Agricultural, silvicultural, and land-clearing burns require notification or a permit from the GFC at 1-800-GA-TREES (428-7337).
- Air curtain destructors and other specialized burning require a permit through the same line.
Permits are only valid for the day they are issued. If rain pushes your burn back, you need a new permit the next day. For large-acreage clearing or understory work, the GFC directs you to your local county office instead of the statewide line.
Fire danger changes fast with humidity and wind. The Georgia Forestry Commission publishes daily and forecast fire danger maps.5Georgia Forestry Commission. fiResponse – Public Viewer On Class 4 or 5 days, conditions are considered dangerous and you should not burn. High-danger declarations show up as warnings on your area’s forecast page.4Georgia Forestry Commission. Burn Permits and Notifications
Local ordinances can be stricter than state rules, so your county or city may prohibit burning that the state technically allows. Check with your local fire marshal before you light anything, even if you believe you have an exemption.
Penalties and Liability
The consequences of a burn violation in Georgia can layer on top of each other, and the financial exposure often runs far past any fine.
Under Georgia’s forest protection statutes, any uncontrolled fire on forested, brushy, or grassy land is a public nuisance. If your fire escapes and the Georgia Forestry Commission or another organized suppression force has to put it out, you are liable for the full cost of the personnel and equipment used to contain it.6Justia Law. Georgia Code 12-6-21 – Uncontrolled Fire as Public Nuisance That bill alone can dwarf any fine. If an escaped fire damages a neighbor’s property, causes a wreck, or injures someone, you also face civil liability for those damages.
Violating an order issued during a declared extreme forest fire emergency is a misdemeanor under Georgia law, which can carry jail time.7Justia Law. Georgia Code 12-6-89 – Extreme Forest Fire Emergency The GFC can also issue unlawful burn notices that trigger suppression charges if a wildfire results. Local fire departments and code enforcement offices maintain their own penalty schedules on top of state enforcement. Fines vary by jurisdiction but commonly start at a few hundred dollars for a first offense and escalate to $1,000 or more for repeat violations, sometimes with jail time.
How to Report Illegal Burning
For an active fire creating an immediate hazard, call 911. For environmental emergencies that need quick attention but are not life-threatening, the EPD operates a 24-hour line at (800) 241-4113. For non-emergency complaints about open burning violations, contact the EPD’s Air Protection Branch at (404) 363-7000 or the EPD district office serving your county.8Environmental Protection Division. Contact Us Your local fire department can also respond to active burning complaints and has authority to act on the scene.