Air Quality District's Ban on Wood Burning in Fireplaces Includes the Pass

Update 6:40 p.m. Exemptions to the South Coast Air Quality Management District restriction of burning wood in residential fireplaces on Friday Dec. 13 include:

• Households above an elevation of 3,000 feet
• Wood-burning devices that are a household’s sole source of heat
• Low-income households
• Properties where there is no existing infrastructure for natural gas service within 150 feet of the property line
• Ceremonial fires exempted under Rule 444 - Open Burning.

Posted 4:50 p.m. The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued a restriction of burning wood in residential fireplaces on Friday Dec. 13 for portions of Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange and L.A. counties due to air pollution level forecasts.

The restriction area includes Banning and Beaumont in the San Gorgonio Pass.

The no-burn restriction area does not include Palm Desert and the rest of the Coachella Valley, a representative for the air quality management district said in a phone interview.

"Residents living in the South Coast Air Basin are not permitted to burn wood in their fireplaces tomorrow, Friday Dec. 13, 2013, due to elevated particulate matter air quality forecasted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District," a statement issued by the district Thursday says.

The South Coast Air Basin includes all of Orange County and the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.  Tomorrow is a no-burn day for all residents in these areas.

See this link for a map of the no-burn restriction area.

Under SCAQMD's "Check Before You Burn" program, residents in the affected areas are prohibited from burning wood or manufactured fire logs in their fireplaces from midnight tonight to midnight on Friday, according to district officials.

On no-burn days, residents can enter their zip codes at www.aqmd.gov to see if they live in an affected area. They can also sign up for daily reports on air quality and Check Before You Burn alerts at www.airalerts.org or call SCAQMD's 24-hour Check Before You Burn toll-free line at (866) 966-3293.

For more info on Check Before You Burn and alternatives to wood burning, see www.healthyhearths.org.