No Wood Burning in Gilroy Allowed Next 24 Hours: Winter 'Spare the Air' Issued

Bay Area residents will be banned from burning firewood and other solid fuels during the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s second Spare the Air alert of the season on Tuesday.

During the 24-hour “Winter Spare the Air Alert,” residents throughout the region will be barred from using fireplaces, woodstoves, outdoor fire pits or other wood-burning devices as stagnant weather conditions are expected to cause unhealthy levels of air pollution.

Air district officials say that wood smoke, like cigarette smoke, contain carcinogenic substances that make the air hazardous to breathe.

“Wood smoke is a serious public health problem for residents of the Bay Area,” air district executive officer Jack Broadbent said in a prepared statement.

“One fireplace burning in a neighborhood is like one person smoking on an airplane -- everyone is impacted,” he said.

Anyone caught violating a Spare the Air alert for the first time will be given the choice of taking a wood smoke awareness class in lieu of a $100 fine. Second-time offenders will receive a $500 ticket, and subsequent ticket amounts will be higher.

The public is asked to check before burning during the Winter Spare the Air season, from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28.

The daily burn status can be found at www.baaqmd.gov, at www.sparetheair.org or by calling the air district’s hotline at (877)-4-NO-BURN.

The public is also encouraged to sign up for AirAlerts at www.sparetheair.org or phone alerts at (800) 430-1515 or to download Spare the Air iPhone or Android apps.

--Bay City News

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