Sorry, Southern California, but you'll have to forego that cozy and festive Friday night fire in the fireplace tonight. Air quality authorities have issued a one-day ban on residential indoor and outdoor wood burning, in effect until midnight tonight. The South Coast Air Quality Management District - the air pollution control authority for Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and portions of Los Angeles counties - issued a mandatory residential no-burn alert, effective from this morning through tonight until 12 midnight.
The haze that hung over Inland Empire skies today (Friday) was evidence of the type of unhealthful air that prompted the one-day burn ban. The SCAQMD issued a reminder that particles in wood smoke – also known as fine particulate matter or PM2.5 – can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory illnesses, increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
No-burn alerts are mandatory in order to protect public health due to a high concentration of fine particulate air pollution forecast for the area. The no-burn prohibition also applies to manufactured fire logs, such as those made from wax or paper.
The Air Qualitiy Management District’s no-burn 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.
A link to additional information and an interactive no-burn alert map is available at www.AirAlerts.org.
