The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is issuing Spare the Air alerts that will last through Christmas Day, banning the burning of wood or other solid fuel because of excessive pollution in the region.
The alerts lasting through Sunday are the result of cool temperatures and light winds in the Bay Area that are trapping wood smoke at ground level, according to the air district.
Fine particulate pollution in the wood smoke can cause health impacts and is especially harmful for children, elderly people and those with respiratory conditions.
“Unfortunately, weather conditions are leading to significant smoke pollution buildup throughout the region that is expected to cause unhealthy air quality through the Christmas holiday,” air district interim executive officer Sharon Landers said in the announcement about the alerts.
People in the nine-county Bay Area are not allowed to use fireplaces, wood stoves, pellet stoves, outdoor fire pits or other wood-burning devices on a Spare the Air day, though exemptions are made for homes without permanently installed heating.
First-time violators are encouraged to take a wood smoke awareness course or will have to pay a $100 fine. Second violations will bring a $500 fine that will escalate with subsequent violations. People can call (877) 4NO-BURN or visit www.baaqmd.gov to file a wood smoke complaint or to get more information on the wood burning ban.
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28 comments
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 If yo say so BAQM.
Bbbbaaaaaahhhhhhhhaaaaaaaa enjoy your Communism. I’ll be enjoyin🔥🔥🔥🔥!!!
I don’t think you know what communism is.
ya can set your clock by the STA alerts this time of year
so$
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I’m heating our home using a wood burning fireplace since natural gas has become expensive.
Come find my fire. You’d better have a warrant.
.
Middle fingers proudly extended.
How about a Pellet Stove? More heat less ash, are they banning those too?
How many Christmas’s in a row now? it surprised you did it again.
I am burning tonight, again. I will burn Christmas Day as family is coming over as well.
I wasn’t going to, but now I feel the need to smoke a brisket this weekend. Just Because. ‘Merica!
We continue to be in the path of all of China’s pollution drifting over the Pacific. It’s proven that our unmitigated wildfire smoke/ash every year far exceeds our local emissions. We live in a county with multiple refineries and chemical plants. Somehow, our residential wood burning has been tagged as the “problem.”
I for one will not be guilted into accepting blame for a myriad of other peoples’/businesses’/nations’ actions.
California, the “It’s all about me” state…
King
Some of us do not run when we see a bully. Some of us will challenge the bully in order to protect those who cannot speak for themselves.
And if you don’t like that, to quote ‘royalty’, “there’s the door!”
Now it is time to go start my daily fire, need to take the chill out of the air.
I’ll be enjoying “Spite Fires” for the next few days.
Happy Holidays Friends!
There is no way I am going to let these small-minded, power-hungry dolts spoil my Christmas. I will enjoy a nice warm fire Christmas eve and Christmas day. Don’t let this government agency control your lives. They forgot we live in a free country, or they don’t care about that.
A fine way to celebrate Christmas. Everyone should dedicate their yule log to these self righteous bureaucratic leaders
What I am thinking I cannot type into here for it would be (rightfully so) deleted due to the graphic nature and inappropriate use of the vilest of language. I find me in this circumstance more and more in this day and age.
The new cheese has to flex his authority. Judging by the smoke in my neighborhood, no one cares.
From the Number 1(with a bullet) Hit position of July 1981
You tell’em BÖC…….
https://youtu.be/VL4zDwUr7dY
Lots of bold talk here, but I see no one is posting their address to challenge the Air Board’s authority.
@Jules: yes, the BAAQMD is the reason people don’t post their addresses here. Genius.
Because somebody gives them the authority doesn’t make it right. They could have three days a year exempt from their BS so families can enjoy a holiday fire. Instead they will be out there looking for people to fine on Christmas. It shows you the kind of people that work there.
Jules has posted that people are afraid to post their address, because they fear the air board authority. I disagree. I believe people don’t post their address because they fear going to jail for beating the crap of idiots who come over to their home to do damage because of their bull crap liberal ideas.
So, call and report your neighbor. Sounds like Nazi Germany…
Our home less are allowed to have fires anytime. Why are the tax paying citizens told they can’t? Does not seem fair.
homeless dont have permanently installed heating so they are exempt.
A backyard fire pit is not permanently installed so I guess that would be exempt too.
The air board said that the PM 2.5 is primarily from wood smoke.
That is a lie! Their own data shows that at least 90% of the PM 2.5 is from sources other than wood smoke.
I miss California’s weather, but not their petty despots! The temperature here is 5°, which is the warmest it’s been all day. We won’t be over freezing temperatures until Monday, and TVA has instituted rolling blackouts. Without fireplaces, some people would die.
I drove down highway 13 this evening to meet some friends. It was actually pretty cool to see all the active fireplaces along that stretch of road. Beginning to think that we are not the only ones sending smoke signals to local despots on the air quality board.
As the sun meets a running stream or the recently rain-soaked ground, a beautiful thing happens. Mists rise and evaporate back into the clouds from whence they came. We call it Earth… doing what it does.
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