How do I find out if a burn ban is in effect in my WNC county right now?

Rural, and self-reliant on fire

Leicester is large rural properties up Sandy Mush, Turkey Creek, and Newfound Road, where propane and wood do the heating and burning brush is part of managing land. That makes open-burning bans matter here — the Forest Service posts them under Buncombe County, and the county fire marshal handles anything local.

With no incorporated town in the picture, your volunteer fire department's non-emergency line is the fastest read on whether today is a burn day.

Cold hollows, hard-working stoves

Cold-air drainage runs these valleys 5 to 8 degrees below Asheville on clear winter nights, so wood stoves and fireplaces work hard here. A burn ban never touches that indoor fire — it's aimed at open outdoor burning — but a hard-working wood appliance needs its annual sweep, since creosote buildup is the leading cause of chimney fires.

Book it in late summer, before you're depending on the stove through a long, cold Leicester winter.

Power out, heat on

Some remote Leicester properties have limited electrical capacity, which makes non-electric heat more than a nicety. Wood is total grid independence, and a millivolt gas unit throws heat with the power down — a burn ban has no bearing on either indoors. We run and pressure-test propane and gas lines for both. Our Asheville showroom is 15 minutes east. Call (828) 545-0525.