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The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued a winter “Spare the Air” alert today, banning residents and businesses from burning wood or manufactured fire logs.

The air district reports that particulate pollution in the Bay Area has reached unhealthy levels.

During the alert, it is illegal to use fireplaces, wood stoves, pellet stoves, outdoor fire pits and other wood-burning devices.

Today marks the 10th winter “Spare the Air” alert that has been issued.

More information on the alert and when it will be lifted can be found online at www.sparetheair.org or by calling (877) 4-NO-BURN.

In related news, Duraflame recently filed a lawsuit against the air quality district.

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5 Comments

  1. 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?

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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

  9. Tom,

    Your friend is 100% correct and the BAAQMD is just another example of government waste and high salaries. It was created by Bay Area politicians and report to the board of supervisors. The head of BAAQMD, Jack Broadbent, worked for the EPA region 6 which has the real authority here. Scott Haggerty saw a power grab opportunity here and he went for it and they reported to Mr Corrupt (Haggerty). Huge office in San Francisco with a ton of staff and attorneys. Just complete waste. Remember this the next time elected officials want to raise taxes or say they did not have enough money. Vote Libertarian!

  10. I must admit that I do appreciate many Libertarians.

    It seems to me that so few Plutonians respect the need for clean air, that I’m curious how come it matters that there are “a ton of staff and attorneys” at a SF office?

    Is your primary concern to take a shot at Scott Haggerty and delight in bit of mean spirited fun?

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