Spare the Air Alert Issued

Weather conditions forecast for Monday in the Bay Area are expected to create unhealthy air quality, prompting air quality officials to issue the second Winter Spare the Air alert of the season.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued the alert, which bans burning wood, manufactured firelogs or any other solid fuel, indoors and outdoors.

Air quality is expected to be unhealthy in the region Monday because of conditions that will trap pollutants in the air close to the ground, according to the district.

Wood smoke, which is the largest source of wintertime air pollution in the Bay Area, contains hazardous soot, carbon monoxide and other harmful toxins such as dioxin, according to the district.

The pollutants can cause breathing difficulties, especially for children, seniors and people with heart or lung conditions.

People should check the daily burn status— which can be found online at www.baamqd.gov or www.sparetheair.org — before burning wood during the Winter Spare the Air season, which runs Nov. 1 to Feb. 28.

People who burn wood during a Spare the Air Day face hefty fines. First-time offenders will receive a warning, but a second violation is subject to a $400 fine, with steeper fines for further violations.

Residents and businesses that burn wood as their only source of heat are exempt from the alerts.

The first Spare the Air Day of the season was Dec. 1, according to the district.

--Bay City News Service