More than 400 San Mateo County Residents Report on Alleged 'Spare the Air' Violators

The winter Spare the Air season has ended with more Bay Area residents saying they’ve ditched wood burning, even on days when it’s not banned.

What’s more, during the season-- which ran from Nov. 1 through Feb. 28-- 3,739 wood smoke complaints were submitted to the local air quality district, resulting in 155 tickets to residents who were found to be in violation of the Wood Burning Rule, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

The District reports that 30 percent of residents reporting they are burning less wood even on days when an alert has not been issued. Surveys also indicated that 75 percent of Bay Area residents support the Air District’s Wood Burning Rule.

In total, the District issued 23 Winter Spare the Air Alerts this winter.

“Even with the significant reduction in wood burning, the Bay Area still exceeded national health standards on six days, and nearly exceeded another nine days, underscoring the need to continue reducing pollution from wood burning,” Jack Broadbent, the Air District’s executive officer said.

Wood smoke from the 1.4 million fireplaces and wood stoves in the region is the largest source of wintertime air pollution in the Bay Area, containing harmful pollutants such as particulate matter and carbon monoxide, officials said.

Exposure to wood smoke has been linked to serious respiratory illnesses and even increased risk of heart attacks, according to a release from the District.

Residents found to be burning during a Winter Spare the Air Alert for the first time were given the option of taking an online or written wood smoke awareness course in lieu of paying a $100 ticket.

“Preliminary survey data indicates that the Wood Burning Rule is an effective instrument for reducing particulates from wood smoke,” the district concluded.

Here are the number of Complaints that were lodged, by county:

• Alameda – 499
• Contra Costa – 576
• Marin – 865
• Napa – 123
• San Francisco – 85
• San Mateo – 423
• Santa Clara – 521
• Solano – 94
• Sonoma – 521
• TOTAL – 3739*

*No county information provided – 32

And here are the number of violations that were found, by county:

• Alameda – 17
• Contra Costa – 16
• Marin – 21
• Napa – 8
• San Francisco – 1
• San Mateo – 33
• Santa Clara – 5
• Solano – 6
• Sonoma – 48
• TOTAL – 155