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Georgia Camping Today
Georgia burn bans, National Weather Service fire weather alerts and campground closures posted by the agencies that run the sites.
Photo: SweetCanadianMullet (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons
Georgia burn ban status and weather alerts
Burn bans
No state burn ban was announced by the Georgia Forestry Commission as of November 15, 2026; the Environmental Protection Division summer burn ban ended on October 1. Check county and city rules and the national forest campfire order before lighting a fire.
Fire weather alerts
None active in Georgia
All weather alerts
1 alert active
| Alert | Area | Until |
|---|---|---|
| Rip Current Statement | Coastal Glynn; Coastal Camden | Nov 19 2:00 pm EST |
How burn rules work for a Georgia campfire
EPD lists 'recreational purposes and cooking' (burn type 5) as a legal burn activity that does not need a GFC permit. GFC says to be extra careful with any outdoor fires, including campfires and cooking fires.
Georgia has no statewide permit requirement for all outdoor fires. Open burning is prohibited by EPD rule except for 13 listed burn types. A GFC permit is required for burn types 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11 and 13 and not required for types 1, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 12.
EPD prohibits burn types 1, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 13 in 54 mostly north and central Georgia counties. Prescribed burning (4) is also prohibited in 19 metro counties. Recreational and cooking fires (type 5) are not on the prohibited list. The 2026 summer ban ended on 2026-10-01.
The 2026 State Forester burn ban
On 2026-04-22 the State Forester issued the first mandatory GFC outdoor burning ban in the agency's history, covering 91 southern counties, citing extreme drought. It was cut to 17 counties on 2026-05-05 (Executive Order 04.22.26.01, through May 22 or until further notice). News reports dated 2026-05-12/13 say the ban was lifted in all remaining counties; the state of emergency itself stayed in effect.
The order prohibited prescribed burns and the burning of yard debris and agriculture material in the affected area.
Fire orders on federal land in Georgia
| Unit | Status when checked | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest | Forest-wide campfire restriction (Stage II, effective 2026-04-23, 'until further notice'): building, maintaining, attending or using any fire or campfire, including charcoal fires, is prohibited anywhere on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest; commercially available gas camp stoves designed for cooking are allowed. No rescission was found on the agency pages read; confirm before travel. The forest's camping page banner reads 'Fire Danger Status Extreme'. | Source |
| Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge | Check refuge alerts for campfire restrictions; none read on the camping page. | Source |
Georgia campground closures
10 campgrounds showed a closure or outage notice when its page was read on November 15, 2026. These notices change only when the site data is rebuilt.
| Campground | Park | Notice | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Winfield Scott Campground | Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest | Site Partially Closed: the campground, beach and picnic pavilion are closed until further notice for construction and maintenance (bridge replacement on GA 180 near the entrance); the fishing pier off Highway 180 remains open. Alert dated 2026-09-11. | Source |
| Lake Rabun Campground | Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest | (page last updated 2026-04-01). The Beach Recreation Area page says the campground is closed in winter; stated dates are from 2025. | Source |
| Pear Tree Hill Group Camp | Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest | per page header; text says closed for the winter season (page last updated 2025-05-08). | Source |
| Fern Springs Recreation Area | Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest | Site Temporarily Closed: group recreation area built by the Civilian Conservation Corps; the page says it is closed. | Source |
| Wildcat Creek Campground #1 Lower | Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest | Site Closed: closed due to road damage (landslides on Wildcat Road); closed until further notice; no camping, no fires, no trash pickup. | Source |
| Wildcat Creek Campground #2 Upper | Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest | Site Closed: closed due to road damage (landslides on Wildcat Road); closed until further notice; no camping, no fires, no trash pickup. | Source |
| Lake Conasauga Campground | Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest | Site Closed: closed for winter (page last updated 2026-10-08). | Source |
| The Pocket Recreation Area | Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest | Site Closed: campground closed for winter (page last updated 2026-08-03). | Source |
| Lake Sinclair Recreation Area | Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest | The sanitary dump station is temporarily closed for repair; sites 1 and 5 have no electricity at the moment. | Source |
| Okefenokee NWR wilderness canoe camping platforms and islands | Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge | Per refuge home page (current 11/04/2026): historically low water has affected many water trails and paddle-in campsites. Open: Coffee Bay, Canal Run, Cedar Hammock and Round Top (from Suwannee Canal Recreation Area); Mixons Hammock and Minnies Lake (from Okef | Source |
Georgia camping conditions: questions
Is there a burn ban in Georgia today?
The card at the top shows the sentence read from the Georgia Forestry Commission news page, with the time it was read. On November 15, 2026 no state burn ban was announced there.
Do I need a permit for a campfire in Georgia?
EPD lists recreational and cooking fires as a burn type that needs no Georgia Forestry Commission permit. State parks and the national forest add their own rules.
Can I light a fire in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest?
The Forest Service announced a campfire ban on April 23, 2026, and the pages read on November 15 showed no end to it. Check the forest alerts page first.
What is a Red Flag Warning?
A National Weather Service alert for weather that spreads fire quickly. Active ones for Georgia show in the card at the top.
How often does this page refresh?
Alerts and the burn sentence are read every 30 minutes. Closure notices change when the campground data is rebuilt.
Where do the alerts come from?
The National Weather Service alerts feed at api.weather.gov for the state of Georgia.
Planning ahead?
See when bookings open and which campgrounds are open this season.