UPDATE: Winter Spare The Air Alert Issued For 10th Straight Day

 The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is issuing the season’s fourteenth Winter Spare the Air Alert for Tuesday, December 17, which bans the burning of wood, manufactured fire logs or any other solid fuel both indoors and outdoors for 24 hours.

The Air District is calling an unprecedented tenth straight Winter Spare the Air Alert as the result of the prolonged dry and stagnant weather pattern that continues to prevail across the Bay Area. Hazardous fine particulate pollution has been building up in the region for over a week and is forecast once again to reach unhealthy levels on Tuesday. This weather system is also affecting air quality in Sacramento and the Central Valley, triggering wood-burning bans in those regions as well.

Written by David Mills

The fireplace needs to remain cold, at least for one more day.

Another Winter Spare the Air alert has been issued, this one for Sunday.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District made the announcement on Saturday afternoon, saying the prolonged cold weather is trapping pollutants close the ground and causing unhealthy air.

“This has been a challenging week for air quality with a high pressure system in place that has not allowed fine particulate pollution to disperse,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the air district. “We are asking for the public’s continued cooperation to protect the health of Bay Area residents and reduce pollution from wood burning.”

It will be a record eighth day in a row that an alert has been in effect.

The Sunday alert prohibits Bay Area residents from burning wood, manufactured fire logs or any other solid fuel both indoors and outdoors for 24 hours.

First-time violators of the ban are given the option of taking a wood smoke awareness class or paying a $100 fine. Second violations result in a $500 fine and the penalties rise with each violation after that.

It's the 12th Spare the Air alert ordered this winter.