North GA Burn Ban to be Lifted Oct. 1

The summer ban on outdoor burning in 54 northern Georgia counties will be lifted on Oct. 1.

The annual restrictions are imposed by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division from May 1 through the end of September to protect air quality from emissions that may increase ground level ozone during the hot summer months.

The 54 counties whose burn bans will be lifted on Oct. 1 are: 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.

The safety precautions mandated by law are: set spacing distances between fires and woodlands and structures, burn times from sunrise to sunset, burner attendance at the fire and reasonable precautions such as weather awareness and suppression tools. Full details including video tutorials in English and Spanish can be found at GaTrees.org/burn-permits-and-notifications/ . Separate notification procedures are required of practitioners conducting prescribed burns.

For more information, visit GaTrees.org or https://epd.georgia.gov/air-protection-branch/open-burning-rules-georgia .