No-Burn Order Extended Until Saturday Night In Diamond Bar-Walnut

DIAMOND BAR, CA — The South Coast Air Quality Management District extended Friday its mandatory prohibition on indoor and outdoor wood burning in Diamond Bar, Walnut and surrounding area through Saturday night due to a forecast of high air pollution.

The residential wood-burning ban now extends through 11:59 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 6 to all those living in the South Coast Air Basin, which includes Orange County and non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The extension is due to a forecast of high air pollution.

South Coast AQMD is reminding residents in Diamond Bar, Walnut and the surrounding area that burning wood in their fireplaces or any indoor or outdoor wood-burning device is prohibited during the mandatory wood-burning ban.

The no burn rule prohibits burning wood as well as manufactured fire logs, such as those made from wax or paper.

Particles in wood smoke can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems (including asthma attacks), increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations, according to the agency.

Residents can help reduce the harmful health effects of wood smoke by signing up to receive e-mail alerts at www.AirAlerts.org to learn when a mandatory no burn day alert is issued.

South Coast AQMD’s no burn day alerts do not apply to mountain communities above 3,000 feet in
elevation, the Coachella Valley, or the High Desert. Homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service also are exempt from the requirement. Gas and other non-wood burning fireplaces are not restricted.

South Coast AQMD’s Check Before You Burn program is in effect from November through the end of February, when particulate levels are highest.