Moving firewood in North Carolina: the repealed emerald ash borer quarantine and other states' entry rules
What North Carolina's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and its Forest Service say about moving firewood: the statewide emerald ash borer quarantine that was repealed in 2026, the county quarantine table, and the entry rules of other states that apply to North Carolina wood.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows pages of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) and the North Carolina Forest Service, read October 9, 2026.
The statewide emerald ash borer quarantine
According to the department's emerald ash borer page, the Commissioner of Agriculture signed an emergency order in 2015 that placed the whole state under quarantine for the pest. The same page says the federal quarantine was lifted in 2021 and the state quarantine was repealed in 2026. Its opening line says the statewide quarantine "has been officially repealed".
The department's quarantine and compliance agreements FAQ answers the question of which North Carolina areas are quarantined with one word: none. It says the whole state is considered infested. It also says that ash material that starts out in North Carolina can be moved freely inside the state.
Where the department's pages disagree
The department's plant pest quarantine page carries a county table headed "Regulated Status". Its note under the table says the entire state is under quarantine for emerald ash borer and for the guava root knot nematode, and its table marks every county "Yes" for emerald ash borer. That note disagrees with the repeal on the emerald ash borer page and in the FAQ. The page does not say when it was written, so this page reports both statements and relies on the two pages that mention the repeal.
The same table covers three other regulated pests:
- It marks imported fire ant "Yes" for most counties and "Yes*" for Granville and Iredell, and the footnote says a starred county is partially regulated.
- It marks spongy moth "Yes" for two counties only, Currituck and Dare, and the footnote says Dare County is partially regulated.
- It lists witchweed for Bladen, Cumberland, Pender, Robeson and Sampson, and the footnote says all counties on the witchweed list are partially regulated.
The page names no regulated articles for these pests and no rule number, so neither is reported here.
What leaves North Carolina is judged by the receiving state
The FAQ says no regulated article may legally move from North Carolina into a state with an exterior quarantine unless it meets that state's entry requirements. It says states with exterior emerald ash borer quarantines may require a state phytosanitary certificate or a compliance agreement. As of June 2026 it lists 17 states with exterior quarantines in part or in whole: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
The FAQ describes three categories of regulated article that those states may name: the beetle itself, ash trees and ash parts (limbs, branches, stumps, roots, logs, lumber, chips and bark chips), and firewood of any hardwood species. It explains why all hardwood firewood is regulated: once a log is cut and split, telling ash from other hardwoods becomes extremely difficult, and other regulators found the same holds for firewood businesses.
The FAQ lists these practices as examples that receiving states have kept from the former federal quarantine. It says each receiving state confirms which ones it accepts under a compliance agreement.
| Practice named in the FAQ | Measure the FAQ gives |
|---|---|
| Chipping | Two of the three measurements, length, width and thickness, at 1 inch or less |
| Debarking | Complete bark removal plus 1/2 inch of wood |
| Composting | At least 140 degrees F for four days, with the pile turned after four days |
| Heat treatment | Centre of the wood at 140 degrees F or more for 60 minutes |
| Kiln drying | Meets USDA guidelines |
| Fumigation | Done by a licensed fumigator |
The FAQ also says a company that ships regulated articles under a compliance agreement or department certification keeps the shipping and certification records for 36 months. It says the department's regional plant pest specialists handle compliance questions, including kiln certification for heat-treated firewood, and that the department offers free training.
What the Forest Service page says
The Forest Service page use local firewood is advice, not a rule. It calls burning wood within a 50-mile radius of its origin a good rule of thumb and says firewood should not be brought into North Carolina from another state unless it has been treated to kill pests, or inspected or certified pest free. It names spongy moth, emerald ash borer, Sirex woodwasp, Asian longhorned beetle, redbay ambrosia beetle, walnut twig beetle and common pine shoot beetle as pests that travel in or on firewood, and links laurel wilt and thousand cankers disease to two of them. The page was last modified January 9, 2025, according to its footer.
Not published
- A North Carolina rule requiring a permit or label for moving firewood inside the state: no official page found on October 9, 2026.
- Penalties for moving firewood inside North Carolina: not published on the pages read.
For other states and provinces see the table on moving wood and firewood.
Sources
- North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, emerald ash borer, read October 9, 2026
- North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, EAB quarantine and compliance agreements FAQ, read October 9, 2026
- North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, plant pest quarantines, read October 9, 2026
- North Carolina Forest Service, use local firewood, read October 9, 2026