Clayton County Fire & Emergency Services coordinates residential burning through an automated system. On October 1 Clayton County residents can call (770) 473-3836 to find out if outdoor residential burning is allowed for that day. The message is changed daily between 8:30am and 9:00 am based on the fire weather report received by the Fire Department from the Georgia Forestry Commission. Residents do not have to go to the nearest fire station to get a burning permit. This service makes it much easier for residents to make burning decisions without ever leaving their home.

The metro-Atlanta burn ban will be lifted on October 1 and we will be allowing residential and commercial burning again. The burn ban started on May 1st and ran through September 30th, the ban was imposed by the Environmental Protection Division of Georgia.

A member of the Clayton County Fire Marshal's office is responsible for making the daily burning decision. The burning decision is made between 8:30am and 9:00am based on Georgia Forestry weather information.

The weather conditions the Fire Marshal's Office considers include: Sky Conditions, Temperature, Relative Humidity, Probability of Precipitation, Precipitation Type, Precipitation Duration, Winds, Smoke Dispersion, Smoke Management Adjective, Fog Potential, Drying Potential, etc. Another controlling factor is the burning rules established by the Environmental Protection Division. Those rules prohibit issuing burning permits before 9:00am due to moisture and smoke dispersion factors.

Residential burning information on the phone line is only good only for the date on the message. No open burning is allowed in Clayton County, Georgia except for the following:

1. Recreational purposes, cooking food
2. Training fires conducted by the Fire Department
3. Open flame devices such as tar kettles, blow torches, portable heaters, etc.
4. Small warming fires set by contractors and tradesmen
5. Reduction of leaves, clippings, brush and limbs on residential properties
6. Agricultural burns approved by the forestry commission
7. Burning over of forest land by the owner of such land with a forestry permit
8. Weed abatement, disease, and pest prevention
9. Commercial burning permitted through the fire marshal's office for land clearing

Commercial burning permits for land clearing are issued through the Fire Marshal's Office and are good only for the specified; contractor, pit or pits, dates on the permit. A commercial burning permit application has to filled out by the contractor and a fee of $100 is required to be paid prior to a permit being issued. Next a member of the Fire Marshal's Office inspects the burn site and approves or denies the commercial permit based on the below conditions required by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Clayton County Code:

1. Prevailing winds are away from the major portion of the area population
2. No more than one burn pit per 10-acre area
3. The burn pit is at least 1,000 feet from any dwelling
4. Air curtain destructor with pit 8' wide X 12-15' deep X length of manifold
5. The amount of dirt on or in the material being burned is minimized
6. Rubber or petroleum materials, or materials producing dense smoke shall not be used
7. Burning shall be between dawn and dusk
8. Burning shall not interfere with traffic on public streets
9. Burning must be constantly attended by a person at least 18 years of age