South Carolina Code 48-34-40. Requirements for conducting prescribed fire; South Carolina Smoke Management Guidelines
(B) Prescribed fires conducted pursuant to this chapter:
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 48-34-40
- Certified prescribed fire manager: means an individual who successfully completes a certification program approved by the State Commission of Forestry. See South Carolina Code 48-34-20
- Prescribed fire: means a controlled fire applied to forest, brush, or grassland vegetative fuels under specified environmental conditions and precautions which cause the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and allow accomplishment of the planned land management objectives. See South Carolina Code 48-34-20
(1) must have a written prescribed fire plan that:
(a) complies with the South Carolina Smoke Management Guidelines;
(b) is prepared before authorization to burn is issued by the State Commission of Forestry; and
(c) is on site and followed during the burn;
(2) must have present at least one certified prescribed fire manager who must:
(a) be certified by the commission;
(b) personally supervise the burn from ignition until the certified prescribed fire manager determines the burn to be safe;
(c) fully consider both fire behavior and related smoke management issues during and after the burn;
(3) are considered in the public interest and do not constitute a public or private nuisance when conducted pursuant to the South Carolina Smoke Management Guidelines, Chapters 1 and 35, Title 48, and Chapter 2 of Title 50; prescribed fires that are purposefully set in accordance with these chapters and the South Carolina Smoke Management Guidelines are exempt from the open fire prohibition pursuant to R. 61-62.2 and are acceptable to the Department of Health and Environmental Control if the fire is for:
(a) burning forest lands for specific management practices;
(b) agricultural control of diseases, weeds, and pests and for other specific agricultural purposes;
(c) open burning of trees, brush, grass, and other vegetable matter for game management purposes;
(4) are considered a property right of the property owner.