Air District Discourages Wood Burning On Thanksgiving Day

BAY AREA, CA – Although the Winter Spare the Air Alert was only extended through Wednesday, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is asking residents to not burn wood on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.

Rain is expected to help push smoke from the Camp Fire out of the Bay Area on Wednesday and Thursday, leaving the air quality in the low- to mid-moderate range on Thanksgiving Day. Extensive wood burning over the holiday, however, could cause air quality to become unhealthy again, according to the air district, the regional agency responsible for protecting air quality in the nine-county Bay Area.

A Winter Spare the Air Alert has not been called for Thanksgiving, and wood burning is not illegal, but strongly discouraged, air district officials said.

"For nearly two weeks, smoke from the Camp Fire has blanketed the region and caused health impacts for many Bay Area residents," said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the air district.

"As the smoke clears and air quality recovers, we're asking the public to not burn wood on Thanksgiving Day to ensure smoke levels do not become unhealthy again. With the public's help, we can all have clean air to breathe over the holiday."

Like cigarette smoke, wood smoke contains fine particles and carcinogenic substances that make the air harmful to breathe.

Wood smoke is especially harmful for children, the elderly and people with respiratory conditions, air district officials said. Smoke from wood-burning fires has been linked to illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis and lung disease.

The public must check before they burn wood during the Winter Spare the Air season, which runs through Feb. 28, 2019.

To find out whether a Spare the Air alert has been issued, residents can call 877-4-NO-BURN or visit www.sparetheair.org or www.baaqmd.gov. Residents can also sign up for text alerts by texting the word "START" to the number 817-57, automatic phone alerts by calling 1-800-430-1515, or automatic email alerts by visiting www.sparetheair.org.

Also see:

• Winter Spare The Air Alert In Effect Through Wednesday
• Winter Spare The Air Season Starts In Bay Area

Photo by Renee Schiavone/Patch