Under Senate Bill 119, GA code section 12-6-90 (July 1, 2021) was changed to eliminate the need to notify the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) by the person, firm, corporation, or association who intends to burn hand-piled natural vegetation/yard debris. Meaning there is no need for a burn permit to burn hand-piled Natural/Yard Debris such as leaf and limb material. Home products (paper, plastic, wood) are NOT allowed to be burned outdoors at ANY time. This does NOT affect the outdoor burn ban which are in effect between May 01 and September 30 of each year.
The Georgia Forestry Commission advises to follow the "Take Five" method to properly plan any burn: "S-S-T-A-R"
- S – Space – 25+ feet between fire and woodlands
- S – Space – 50+ feet between fire and structures
- T – Time – sunrise to sunset
- A – Attendance – Person responsible on-site until the fire is extinguished
- R – Reasonable precautions – Tools/measures in place to prevent escaped fire. Some examples are: tools/measures in place to prevent escaped fire. These include: continuous pressurized water source on site; man-made or natural barrier to contain fire, such as bare soil, rocks, bricks, burn barrel, etc.; hand tools or fire-containing equipment on site, such as rake, shovel, garden hoe, etc.; weather awareness – to NWS red flag warnings, High Fire Danger designation of Very High or Extreme days and other hazardous conditions, low relative humidity, high winds, etc.
For additional information, visit https://gatrees.org/georgia-burn-notification-law-changing/ and https://gatrees.org/burn-permits-and-notifications/