Highlands Fire and Rescue

Due to increased wildfire risk, the N.C. Forest Service has issued a ban on all open burning and has canceled all burning permits statewide effective 6 p.m. Saturday, March 28 until further notice.

Under North Carolina law, the ban prohibits all open burning in the affected counties, regardless of whether a permit was previously issued. The issuance of any new permits has also been suspended until the ban is lifted. Anyone violating the burn ban faces a $100 fine plus $183 court costs. Any person responsible for setting a fire may be liable for any expenses related to extinguishing the fire.

The burn ban does not apply to fires started within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling. The local fire marshal has authority to issue a burn ban within those 100 feet.

Read news release: https://www.ncagr.gov/news/press-releases/2026/03/28/statewide-burn-ban-issued-north-carolina-due-hazardous-forest-fire-conditions

Please postpone all outdoor burning until we get a significant amount of rain!

Effective Saturday, March 28 at 8 a.m., the National Weather Service has issued a ** 🚩🚩RED FLAG WARNING🚩🚩** for some North Carolina counties. For counties that aren’t under a red flag, fire danger is still critical. Review weather alerts for North Carolina at weather.gov.

A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures will create dangerous fire behavior.

While open burning is permitted during a red flag, it is NOT advised. Please postpone ALL outdoor burning. If there was ever a time to show you can follow instructions the first time they are given, it’s now.

Careless debris burning is the leading cause of wildfires in North Carolina, and you are our best defense against wildfire. For wildfire readiness and prevention tips: preventwildfirenc.org

Merry Christmas from C shift! We hope everyone has a safe and blessed day!

🔥Increased Fire Danger Today Statewide!

Please refrain from burning outdoors until further notice. The combination of gusty winds, low relative humidity, and dry conditions can create rapid fire growth situations.

Outdoor burning is strongly discouraged.

October is national Fire and life safety month! Yesterday we spent the morning with grades K-5 Highlands School teaching about safety drills in the home and a little about what we do at Highlamds Fire and Rescue. We want to give a big Thank you to Jackson County, NC Emergency Management and Jackson county fire and life safety for bringing their smoke trailer up to give the kids a real life experience of what to expect in case of a house fire!

We are not trying to stir alarm among everyone but we want folks to be aware and prepared. Please pay attention to weather updates for our area. With the uncertainty of this storm, we will post updates on this platform as well as the Town of Highlands app.

Free Car Seat Safety Clinic
Monday, September 22 at 12pm
Highlands Fire and Rescue Station 1 ( 149 Franklin Road)
We will have Certified technicians on-site to check your car seat, ensure proper installation, and answer your safety questions!

We are only a week away from open house!

The town of Highlands now has an app! Please download the app and scroll through to see the different options!

We are looking to fill a firefighter position if you are interested you can fill out an application and return to Karlene Cabe at town hall, or Chief Ryan Gearhart at the fire station, 149 Franklin rd.

Saturday a couple of our members went down to see our friends in Cashiers to train on vehicle extrication/stabilization. We had a great day and learned some new techniques that will help us in the future. We want to give a big Thank you to On-site towing for allowing us to come down and use some vehicles. We would also like to say Thank you to Glenville-Cashiers Rescue Squad for bringing a truck over and allowing us to try out some new tools!