RALEIGH – Effective at 8 a.m. Friday, May 8, the N.C. Forest Service has lifted a ban on all open burning for Alamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Stanly, Stokes and Union counties.
The ban, which went into effect statewide March 28 due to hazardous forest fire conditions, was lifted for 81 other counties May 3.
The statewide burn ban remains in effect until further notice despite weekend rain in some areas. Persistent dry weather and increasing rainfall deficits from the last several months have left most of the state needing 10 inches of rain or more.
RALEIGH – The application period will open April 20 for landowners to apply for assistance for timber losses from Hurricane Helene as part of the $221 million USDA block grant the state received. It is the last of four categories of assistance that will be provided through this block grant program.
The Timber Loss Relief Program (TLRP) will be administered by the N.C. Forest Service and designed to partially compensate private landowners with at least 10 contiguous acres of moderate to catastrophic timber loss. The deadline for applying is June 12.
RALEIGH – Since the state-issued ban on open burning was enacted March 28, a total of 554 wildfires has burned more than 2,200 acres across the state. With little rainfall or improvement expected over the next 7-10 days, the statewide burn ban and enforcement action will continue until further notice.
On Friday, April 10, Lennon Colt Hinson, 42, of Evergreen, NC was arrested and charged with one felony count of larceny of timber (N.C.G.S. 14-135) and five misdemeanor counts of wood load tickets (N.C.G.S. 14-135.1) in Columbus County. N.C. Forest Service law enforcement officials, with assistance from the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, arrested and charged Hinson, owner of Evergreen Logging, following an investigation into a timber theft complaint filed April 2, 2026, by a private landowner.
Hinson has additional larceny of timber charges pending in Robeson County.
Spring wildfire season in North Carolina is in full swing, with fire activity surging statewide over the last 10 days. Since Friday, March 20, N.C. Forest Service rangers have responded to 626 wildfires across the state. Not including today, at least 114 of those fires have started since the statewide ban on open burning became effective at 6 p.m., Saturday, March 28.
The cause of the Jumping Branch fire currently burning in McDowell County was determined to be the result of improperly discarded smoking material. Hilary Brooke Inman, 38, of Marion, NC, was cited and charged with North Carolina General Statute 14-138.1 as a result of starting a fire upon grassland, brushland, woodland without fully extinguishing the same. The Jumping Branch fire is currently 185 acres in size and 20% contained as of Tuesday morning, March 31.
Due to increased wildfire risk, the N.C. Forest Service has issued a ban on all open burning and has canceled all burning permits statewide effective 6 p.m. Saturday, March 28 until further notice.
To commemorate the annual tree-planting holiday, the N.C. Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry program has announced that 73 communities, 12 campuses and five utilities have been awarded 2025 Tree City USA, 2025 Tree Campus Higher Education and 2026 Tree Line USA designations. North Carolina observes Arbor Day the first Friday following March 15, while National Arbor Day is held the last Friday in April each year.