For the third time in the first eight days of 2013, Bay Area air quality officials have imposed a "Spare The Air" day.
Administrators at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District announced this afternoon the ban will be in effect on Tuesday.
On "Spare The Air" days, it's illegal to burn wood, fireplace logs or other solid fuel, both indoors and outdoors, for 24 hours.
Residents and businesses are prohibited from using fireplaces, woodstoves, pellet stores, outdoor fire pits or other wood-burning devices.
“The air district is declaring a Winter Spare the Air Alert on Tuesday in an effort to keep pollution levels from becoming unhealthy,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the air quality district. “Cold, still weather conditions will lead to excessive build-up of wood smoke unless people refrain from using their fireplaces and wood stoves.”
Starting this winter, first-time violators will be given the option to take a wood smoke awareness class, online or by mail, to learn about the hazards of wood smoke pollution in lieu of paying a penalty.
Second violations will result in a $500 ticket and subsequent ticket amounts will be higher.
See stats on Spare the Air enforcement.
Here are some places to get more information.
- On the Air District Web sites: www.baaqmd.gov or www.sparetheair.org
- Via the toll-free hotline 1-877-4-NO-BURN (complaints can also be filed via the hotline)
- By signing up for AirAlerts at www.sparetheair.org or phone alerts at 1-800-430-1515
- Via the Spare the Air iPhone and Android Apps
How do you feel about Spare the Air? Tell us in the comments section below. Would you tell on your neighbor if they were violating Spare the Air?
