Community reacts to statewide burn ban being lifted in Onslow County

ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - North Carolina Forest Services lifted the burn ban Monday morning.

The burn ban was put in effect on March 21st. The ban put a stop to all burning in the state.

Howard Campbell says when it comes to tree debris, there are two main ways to get rid of them.

“A lot of the time if you have some trees,” said Campbell. “They are going to leave the big stumps that have to be removed and a good way to do it is to drill them up and burn them.”

He says the ban coming to an end couldn’t have come at a better time.

“I have to burn some stuff here relatively soon,” said Campbell. “I would have gone online to look anyway. It just seems like the responsible thing to do.”

The ban started due to forest fires and dry conditions across the state. On Monday, the Department of Agriculture said weather conditions have improved with rainfall.

Yet, when the ban started in Onslow County, Jeremy Foster with Fire Rescue says they received over 50 calls about fire and gave out 25 citations over the first few days. A few weeks later though, he noticed a decline.

“We got probably 10-15 calls during the week,” said Foster. “It was a big decrease in the type of calls we were in for.”

Officials say Onslow County is under extreme drought conditions, so be careful when it comes to open burning.

“We are still extreme conditions that if it gets away from you it could cause a major wildlife fire,” said Foster.

As of April 2, burn permits are available statewide. Residents can get a burn permit at any permitting agency or online.