A Winter Spare the Air Alert has been issued for Thursday in the
Bay Area.
A Winter Spare the Air Alert has been issued for Thursday in the Bay Area.
Wood burning is banned indoors and outdoors for 24 hours Thursday.
According to a Bay Area Air Quality Management District press release, 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 ban will be in effect for the Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, southern Sonoma and southwestern Solano counties.
According to the press release, winter air pollution is mainly caused by particulate matter pollution from wood smoke, and smoke from wood-burning fires is linked to illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, 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 1-877-4-NO-BURN.
