Bay Area 'Spare the Air' Alert Issued

BAY AREA, CA -- A Winter Spare the Air alert has been issued for Wednesday, Feb. 1 in the Bay Area, which means that the burning of wood is banned for 24 hours, under order of regional air quality officials.

The alert is the seventh issued by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District during the winter season and the second this week, following one issued for Monday, Jan. 30.

The air district issued the alert because of a forecast for cool and stagnant weather conditions that are expected to trap wood smoke pollution near the ground.

"Although we are seeing beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the skies are the dirtiest we've seen all winter," air district executive officer Jack Broadbent said in a statement. "It's important to remember that just one home
burning wood can pollute an entire neighborhood."

A low-pressure system and rainy weather are expected to move into the region later in the week, when the air quality is expected to improve.

During a Spare the Air event, it's illegal for Bay Area residents to use their fireplaces, wood stoves, pellet stoves, outdoor fire pits or other wood-burning devices. Violators can be fined or required to take a wood smoke awareness class.

There are exemptions for residences without permanently installed heating, although those homes need to use an Environmental Protection Agency-certified device that is registered with the air district.

The Winter Spare the Air season runs from Nov. 1 through Feb. 28. Bay Area residents can find out when an alert has been issued by calling (877) 4NO-BURN, visiting www.sparetheair.org, signing up for automatic phone alerts by calling (800) 430-1515 or downloading Spare the Air apps for iPhone or Android devices.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Spare the Air