N.C. Gen. Stat. » Chapter 14
NC General Statutes

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-137 (2026)

Willfully or negligently setting fire to woods and fields

✓ laws through the 2026 session (checked Oct. 2026)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section NCLEGncleg.gov (official) JustiaChapter 14 CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

If any person, firm or corporation shall willfully or negligently set on fire, or cause to be set on fire, any woods, lands or fields, whatsoever, every such offender shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. This section shall apply only in those counties under the protection of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in its work of forest fire control. It shall not apply in the case of a landowner firing, or causing to be fired, his own open, nonwooded lands, or fields in connection with farming or building operations at the time and in the manner now provided by law: Provided, he shall have confined the fire at his own expense to said open lands or fields. (1907, c. 320, ss. 4, 5; C.S., s. 4310; 1925, c. 61, s. 2; 1941, c. 258; 1973, c. 1262, s. 86; 1977, c. 771, s. 4; 1989, c. 727, s. 218(3); 1993, c. 539, s. 79; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1997-443, s. 11A.119(a); 2015-241, s. 14.30(u); 2015-263, s. 36(a).)

 

§ 14-138:  Repealed by Session Laws 1994, Ex.  Sess., c. 14, s. 72(6).

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 1968–1968 · leading case: Pickard v. Burlington Belt Corp., 162 S.E.2d 601 (N.C. Ct. App. 1968).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Pickard v. Burlington Belt Corp., 162 S.E.2d 601 (N.C. Ct. App. 1968). · cites it 2× “The plaintiffs, the Pickards and Murray, assign as error the striking from their complaint allegations pertaining to G.S. 14-137 and 14-139, and the failure of the Court to instruct the jury thereon.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.