Posted by Qwerty, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Feb 3, 2009 at 8:50 pm

Which parts of the bay area were given "unhealthy" air quality ratings? I checked accuweather.com and the rating for pleasanton today was "moderate". Oakland was "unhealthy for sensitive groups".

Anyone have further info? It did honestly seem a bit hazy the last 1-2 days, although I don't know why. Were there any fires or other things going on to explain this?

Posted by Hard to breathe, a resident of the Pleasanton Valley neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2009 at 12:04 pm

Ok, we have a home in our neighborhood 6 houses down from mine. As soon as I step out the door and turn, I know right away they have their fireplace going. There's a white/grey cloud hanging around for a block in all directions of this house. I can't believe it's a healthy situation any time of day.

But they were burning on this Spare the Air day. Is there anything we can do to stop poorly burning fireplaces that pollute our neighborhoods? I love the smell of a good fire, but it's hard to even walk within 3 houses of this place it's so bad.

Just curious.

Posted by judy, a resident of the Highland Oaks neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2009 at 5:27 pm

In my opinion, this "spare the air" thing is a hoax. All the days are rated pretty much the same. If you go on the website, there are many spare the air days. It seems random to me. Just another example of government telling us what to do.

Posted by smoke police, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2009 at 10:38 pm

You can tell on them.

Posted by Tom, a resident of the Valley Trails neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2009 at 9:46 am

I was told by someone who I consider knowledgable in this area that the Bay Air Quality Management District has no authority regarding burning anything in a fireplace. There are no laws and there are no fines that can be given regarding fireplace burning. This is just another government dept that is searching for reasons for their jobs. I say get rid of a whole bunch of these agencies feeding off us. And never vote for a incumbent.

Posted by Mr. Cheney, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2009 at 3:13 pm

I agree, we don't need more Government to tell us what to do or not do. If you have a problem with the smoke from someones chimney you need to tell them. communication is key. You can give them our # and we can help if they like what we can do. VALLEY PLUMBING Home Center, Inc. can help. We are licensed to install gas lines for your homes. We can take a regular fireplace and make it into a clean burning and beautiful functioning part of your home. Call us for a free estimate so we can tell you more. 925-462-1639