Winter Spare The Air Alert In Effect Through End Of 2017

BAY AREA, CA – The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued Winter Spare the Air alerts for the final three days of 2017 because of a forecast for unhealthy air quality in the region.

Wood burning is banned in the Bay Area on Winter Spare the Air days, so residents will not be allowed to ban wood, manufactured fire logs or other solid fuel indoors or outdoors on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, air district officials said.

A continued high-pressure weather system in the region is expected to have clear and calm conditions that trap smoke near the ground, according to the air district.

Wood-burning ban exemptions are available for homes without permanently installed heating that rely on woodstoves or fireplaces for their sole source of heat and have a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified device.

First-time violators of the ban can pay a $100 ticket or take a wood smoke awareness class online or by mail. Subsequent violations will result in fines of $500 and higher.

The alerts are the 14th, 15th and 16th of the winter season, which started Nov. 1 and runs through Feb. 28.

People can find out when a Spare the Air alert is in effect by visiting www.sparetheair.org or www.baaqmd.gov, by calling 877-4-NO-BURN, signing up for text alerts by texting "START" to 817-57, signing up for phone alerts at 800-430-1515 or via Spare the Air iPhone and Android apps.

By Bay City News Service

Photo by Renee Schiavone/Patch