NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1975 SESSION

CHAPTER 493

SENATE BILL 293

AN ACT TO REWRITE G.S. 14-139 PERTAINING TO STARTING FIRES IN OR CAPABLE OF SPREADING TO WOODLAND UNDER PROTECTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 14-139, as the same appears in the 1974 Cumulative Supplement to Volume 1B of the General Statutes, is rewritten in its entirety to read as follows:

"(a)       Statement of purpose. It is the intent and purpose of this section to enact fire control provisions that are adopted to the needs and circumstances of the respective areas of North Carolina. The General Assembly hereby finds that, in certain counties designated in subsection (b) of this section and which have organic soils associated with large expanses of forests with highly flammable fuel types, forest fires are likely to result from the unusual hazard which exists during land clearance operations, and the General Assembly hereby classifies said counties as subject to the provisions of subsection (b). The General Assembly further finds that, in the remaining counties designated in subsection (c) of this section, forest fires are not as likely to result from unusual hazards that exist during land clearance operations, and the General Assembly hereby classifies said counties as subject to the provisions of subsection (c).

(b)        It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to willfully start, or cause to be started, any fire, in any of the areas of woodlands under the protection of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources or within 500 feet of any such protected area without first having obtained from the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources, or his duly authorized agent, a permit to start and burn such fire in the above mentioned protected areas.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to willfully burn any debris, stumps, brush or other inflammable material accumulated as a result of ground clearance activities without having first received a special burning permit from the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources, or his duly authorized agent, and such special permit shall be granted by the secretary or his duly authorized agent, only if he has personally inspected the site of the proposed burning, and has assessed the conditions which might endanger protected woodlands as a result of such burning. The secretary, or his duly authorized agent, shall be empowered to prohibit all brush burning and burning of other debris capable of spreading fire to protected woodlands regardless of the distance such burning operation may be from the said woodlands, when it is determined that hazardous fire conditions exist.

If a fire is discovered burning in any area subject to this subsection under any conditions which are considered by the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources, or his duly authorized agent, to be hazardous to the protected forest in the vicinity, the secretary, or any duly authorized agent, is hereby empowered to enter upon the lands where such burning is occurring and, at their option, to extinguish such fires constituting a danger to adjoining woodlands.

The provisions of this subsection shall apply only to the counties of Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington.

(c)        It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to start or cause to be started any fire or ignite any material in any of the areas of woodland under the protection of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources or within 500 feet of any such protected area, during the hours starting at midnight and ending at 4:00 p.m. without first obtaining from the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources, or his duly authorized agent, a permit to start or cause to be started any fire or ignite any material in such above mentioned protected areas.

The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the counties of Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington.

(d)        During periods of hazardous forest fire conditions or during air pollution episodes declared by competent authority pursuant to Article 21B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources is authorized to cancel all permits and special burning permits covered by this section and to prohibit all brush pile burning, the burning of other debris and the starting of any fires in any of the woodlands under the protection of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources or capable of spreading to any such protected area, without regard to the distance from such fires to such woodlands.

The secretary, or his duly authorized agent, may refuse to issue a permit when the burning to be conducted under this section is in violation of rules and regulations governing the control of air pollution adopted by competent authority under Article 21B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes of North Carolina. If a fire is discovered burning in any area subject to this section under any conditions which are considered by the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources, or his duly authorized agent, to be in violation of rules and regulations governing the control of air pollution adopted by competent authority under Article 21B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, the secretary, or any duly authorized agent, is hereby empowered to enter upon the lands where such burning is occurring and, at their option, to extinguish such fires which are in violation of said rules and regulations.

This section shall not apply to any fires started, or caused to be started, within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling house, if such fire shall be confined within an enclosure from which burning material may not escape, or within a protected area upon which a watch is being maintained and which is provided with adequate fire protection equipment.

No charge shall be made for the granting of any permit or special burning permit required by this section.

(e)        Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) or imprisoned for a period of not more than 30 days, or both, in the discretion of the court. The penalties imposed by this section shall be separate and apart and not in lieu of any civil or criminal penalties which may be imposed by Section 143-215.114 of Article 21B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. Compliance with this section does not relieve permittee from the need to comply with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to Article 21B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes of North Carolina."

Sec. 2.  Chapter 617 of the 1963 Session Laws (which relates to forest fire control and burning permits in Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington Counties) is hereby repealed.

Sec. 3.  This act shall become effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 9th day of June, 1975.