North Myrtle Beach open fire beach ban means $500 fine or month in jail

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Put those lighters away while at the beach!

The North Myrtle Beach City Council approved an ordinance Monday night to ban fires on the beach.

North Myrtle Beach Fire Chief Garry Spain asked the council to pass the ordinance in the interest of public safety.

It makes lighting or maintaining fire on the beach illegal, including grills.

“What we don’t need is to have an umbrella dip into a fire,” said Spain. “We don’t need somebody’s picnic cloth or towel to catch on fire, especially with the winds we get in the afternoon. Trying to do what we can to protect people in a reasonable way.”

Anyone caught with a fire at the beach can be punished with up to a $500 fine or up to a month in jail.

The ordinance states the following:

“It shall be unlawful for any person to build, start, ignite, or maintain any fire or open flame or use any propane-fired grill, cooker, or heating device heated by fire on any public beach, public beach access, street end adjacent to the beach, or any government land immediately adjacent to the beach. Any person who violates this section shall be subject to punishment as provided in sections 1-6, General Penalty. This section shall not apply to any fire-related activities conducted by the City of North Myrtle Beach.”

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