Bay Area Spare The Air Day Declared

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Bay Area Air District is issuing the winter season’s first Spare the Air alerts for today and Thanksgiving Day. Burning wood, manufactured fire logs, or any other solid fuel —both indoors and outdoors — is banned.

Smoke from increased wood burning combined with light winds and cold overnight temperatures is expected to cause elevated pollution levels. High pressure over Northern California will act like a lid, trapping smoke at ground level. Offshore winds may also transport air pollution from the Central Valley into the Bay Area.

Because of fine particle pollution, fireplaces, wood stoves, pellet stoves, outdoor fire pits, or any other wood-burning devices during a Spare the Air Alert illegal for Bay Area residents and businesses. Exemptions are available for homes without permanently installed heating, where wood stoves or fireplaces are the only source of heat. Anyone whose sole source of heat is a wood-burning device must use an EPA-certified, or pellet-fueled, device that is registered with the Air District to qualify for an exemption. An open-hearth fireplace no longer qualifies for an exemption. In San Francisco, the National Park Service also prohibits recreational beach fires at Ocean Beach in Golden Gate National Recreation Area through the end of February. Natural gas, propane or electric fireplaces are allowed during Spare the Air Alerts.

Like cigarette smoke or wildfire smoke, wood smoke contains carcinogenic substances, such as particulate matter and carbon monoxide, which are harmful when inhaled. Exposure to wood smoke has been linked to serious respiratory illnesses, increased risk of heart attacks and certain types of cancer. The fine particulate pollution in wood smoke is especially harmful for children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions.

Low temperatures and calm winds trap smoke from wood burning around homes and increase fine particulate pollution indoors and outdoors.

The Air District may call Spare the Air Alerts for fine particle pollution up to three days in advance to prevent air pollution levels from becoming elevated. During an alert, the use of wood-burning devices such as fireplaces, pellet stoves, wood stoves and outdoor fire pits is illegal.

First-time violators of the Wood Burning Rule are encouraged to take a wood smoke awareness course to learn more about the health impacts from wood smoke and the weather conditions that lead to unhealthy air quality in the winter. Violators who choose not to take the course will receive a $100 ticket. Those second violations are subject to a $500 ticket, with the ticket amount increasing for subsequent violations.

Bay Area residents can check if a Spare the Air Alert is in effect:

• Signing up for text alerts. To sign up, text “START” to the number 81757
• Calling 1-877-4NO-BURN
• Visiting www.sparetheair.org or www.baaqmd.gov
• Signing up for automatic e-mail AirAlerts at www.sparetheair.org/alerts
• Signing up for automatic phone alerts at www.sparetheair.org/alerts
• Downloading the Spare the Air iPhone or Android app

On October 1, 2025, the Air District updated Wood Burning Rule, lowering the Spare the Air Alert threshold from a daily forecast level of 35 to 25 micrograms per cubic meter of fine particulate matter. Lowering the threshold ensures alerts are called earlier, before pollution builds up, protecting vulnerable residents. This means alerts will occur more often when air quality is in the high-moderate range or above on the Air Quality Index, since wood smoke at these levels can still harm our health.

There are also prohibitions on excessive smoke and burning garbage and other harmful materials like junk mail, plastic, wood pallets and more in fireplaces and wood stoves. Residents concerned about wood smoke pollution may call 1-877-4NO-BURN or visit www.baaqmd.gov/complaints to file a complaint or to get more information.

The Bay Area Air District is the regional agency responsible for protecting air quality in the nine-county Bay Area. Connect with the Air District via X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. For more information about Spare the Air, visit www.sparetheair.org.