Do WNC burn bans apply to wood-burning fire pits and outdoor fireplaces?

Rural distance, propane, and wood heat

Leicester is spread-out country — big wooded lots, many on propane, with wood heat still common. That's a community that burns, which is exactly the crowd a burn ban touches most: an open pit or a brush fire is the textbook ember source on a dry, windy day, and out here the nearest engine is a real drive away.

For homes on propane, a gas fire pit or outdoor fireplace is the outdoor feature that stays lightable during a ban, with no embers to carry into the dry leaf litter.

Cold hollows, dry windows

Cold-air drainage runs Leicester's rural valleys five to eight degrees colder than Asheville on clear winter nights, so fireplaces work hard here. The wildfire risk shows up in the dry, breezy gaps of spring and fall, when the county and Forest Service post bans — the Forest Service order reaching within 100 feet of woodlands, which fits nearly every lot.

Licensed gas, permit and all

Confirm the current order with the Buncombe County fire marshal before lighting wood. For a propane fire feature, we run and permit the gas line and pressure-test it — licensed work a landscaper can't legally do. We're 15 minutes west of our Asheville showroom — call (828) 545-0525.