Home Contra Costa County Winter Spare the Air Alert Issued For New Years Eve

Winter Spare the Air Alert Issued For New Years Eve

by ECT

WSTA web graphic

A Winter Spare the Air Alert has been issued for New Years Eve which means wood burning is banned both indoors and outdoors on Tuesday for the full 24 hours with exemptions for homes that have no other source of heat. This is now the 23nd Winter Spare the Air Alert issued since Nov. 1.

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.

Anyone who violates the burning ban will be given the option of taking a wood smoke awareness class or paying a $100 fine. A second violation is increased to a $500 fine.

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.

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.)

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 may also like

2 comments

For why Dec 31, 2013 - 12:15 pm

How are all the New Years fireworks shows being allowed on a spare the day? San Francisco is planning a huge display. Why is it that only the home owner trying to keep warm being told to put out the fire or feel like a criminal while keeping warm??

Obama hater Dec 31, 2013 - 9:34 pm

Spare the air days are STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They only had these when stupid STUPID Obama got into office. I’m not going to freeze, I’m going to burn spare the air day or not!!!!!

Comments are closed.