Check Before You Burn In Orange County

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Before you light that firepit, or curl up around a crackling fire in the fireplace, the South Coast Air Quality Management District declared a residential no burn day, Tuesday. All indoor and outdoor residential wood burning was prohibited after high air pollution was predicted for Tuesday, officials say.

The SCAQMD issued a residential no burn day alert expected to run Tuesday from midnight through noon, for all those living in the South Coast Air Basin.

"Burning wood in Orange County fireplaces, or any indoor or outdoor wood-burning device, is prohibited during the mandatory wood-burning ban," the SCAQMD said.

The no burn rule prohibits burning wood as well as manufactured fire logs, such as those made from wax or paper.

"Do your part to help keep our air clean by not burning wood during the mandatory wood burning ban," officials said. "No burn day alerts are mandatory in order to protect public health when levels of fine particulate air pollution in the region are forecast to be high."

Smoke from wood burning can cause health problems.

Particles in wood smoke – also known as fine particulate matter or PM2.5 – can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems (including asthma attacks), increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

Residents can help reduce the harmful health effects of wood smoke by signing up to receive e-mail alerts at www.AirAlerts.org to learn when a mandatory no burn day alert is issued.

South Coast AQMD’s no burn day alerts do not apply to mountain communities above 3,000 feet in elevation, the Coachella Valley, or the High Desert. Homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service also are exempt from the requirement. Gas and other non-wood burning fireplaces are not restricted.

South Coast AQMD’s Check Before You Burn program is in effect from November through the end of February, when particulate levels are highest. Nine no burn day alerts have been issued for the 2019-2020 season. Additional information is available at www.AirAlerts.org.

For 24-hour recorded information, call (866) 966-3293. An interactive map is available at www.aqmd.gov/CheckBeforeYouBurnMap.

South Coast AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.