The first Winter Spare the Air Alert has been issued for Saturday, January 2, in the Bay Area. Wood burning is banned both indoors and outdoors on Saturday, for the full 24 hours. Air quality in the Bay Area is forecast to be unhealthy.
It is illegal for Bay Area residents to burn wood or other solid fuels in fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts, pellet stoves, outdoor fire-pits, or other wood-burning devices.
This wood-burning ban will be in effect for Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southern Sonoma and southwestern Solano Counties. (Visit www.sparetheair.org/Stay-Informed/Todays-Air-Quality/Reporting-Zones.aspx to see if your city is located within the Air District.) Winter air pollution is mainly caused by particulates or soot pollution from wood smoke. Smoke from wood-burning fires is linked to illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis and lung disease, and is especially harmful for children and the elderly.
For more information about the Wood Burning Rule, or to check before you burn, visit www.sparetheair.org or call 1-877-4NO-BURN. You can also call 1-800-430-1515 and register to receive automatic phone calls when a Winter Spare the Air Alert has been called. To see the current air quality forecast visit www.sparetheair.org.
For more information on the U.S. EPA’s AIRNow Program, visit http://www.airnow.gov.
