Winter Spare the Air Alert #15 Issued for Saturday

Bay City News Service--A Spare the Air alert has been issued in the Bay Area for Saturday, the 15th daylong wood-burning ban in the region during the winter season.

The ban, issued by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, includes all indoor and outdoor wood burning in all nine Bay Area counties and will be in effect for 24 hours.

A persistent high pressure system sitting over the region continues to trap wood smoke pollution in the air, prompting the repeated bans, air district officials said.

"This has been a tough winter for anyone with breathing problems," BAAQMD executive officer Jack Broadbent said in a statement.

The ban includes the burning of wood and other solid fuels in fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts, pellet stoves, outdoor fire pits, and other wood-burnign devices. Homes without permanently installed heating are exempt from the ban.

For more information regarding air quality forecasts and wood burning bans, visit www.sparetheair.org or call (877) 4NO-BURN.

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