‘No-burn’ alert issued for most of Southern California
DIAMOND BAR — Indoor and outdoor wood burning is prohibited Tuesday in most of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties because of weather conditions conducive to concentrated pollution, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The agency issued a mandatory “no-burn” alert that will be in effect until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday for everyone living in the South Coast Air Basin, including Orange County and non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It does not apply to mountain communities above 3,000 feet, the Coachella Valley or the High Desert, or homes and low-income households that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, according to the AQMD.
#CheckBeforeYouBurn: Tuesday, January 29th is a No-Burn Day: https://t.co/Y158OoPtBX. Find out more about our No-Burn program at https://t.co/Q46dBQObYi and sign up for alerts at https://t.co/lyxsiZhidg pic.twitter.com/7jNh277IaJ
— South Coast AQMD (@SouthCoastAQMD) January 28, 2019
The order bans burning wood or manufactured fire logs in fireplaces or any indoor or outdoor wood-burning device. People can still use gas and other non-wood-burning fireplaces.
“No-burn alerts are mandatory in order to protect public health when levels of fine particulate air pollution in the region are forecast to be high,” according to the AQMD. “Smoke from wood burning can cause health problems.”
Particles in wood smoke — also known as fine particulate matter or PM2.5 — can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems, including asthma attacks.