Check Before You Burn Pollution Prevention Program Begins November 1

DIAMOND BAR, Calif., Oct. 30, 2024 ~ As the winter season approaches, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) is reminding residents to be mindful of their wood-burning habits. On Friday, November 1st, the district will kick off its 13th Annual Check Before You Burn season, urging residents to check for No-Burn Days before lighting up their fireplaces.

Under the Check Before You Burn program, residents are educated about the dangers of wood smoke and are prohibited from burning firewood in their fireplaces, stoves, or outdoor fire pits on designated No-Burn Days. These days are determined by South Coast AQMD forecasters when levels of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) are expected to reach elevated levels due to air emissions and stagnant weather conditions.

According to experts, short-term exposure to PM2.5 can cause throat and eye irritation, aggravate asthma, and trigger other respiratory or cardiovascular health problems. Prolonged exposure to high levels of PM2.5 may even increase the risk of strokes, heart attacks, and cancers. This is especially concerning for vulnerable populations such as young children, older adults, people with lung or heart diseases, pregnant women, and those who spend a lot of time outdoors.

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In addition to the health hazards associated with wood smoke, burning wood also contributes to poor indoor air quality and poor air quality in surrounding neighborhoods. Last winter alone, eight No-Burn Days were called by South Coast AQMD.

To help reduce the use of wood-burning devices and promote cleaner alternatives, South Coast AQMD has implemented a Wood Stove and Fireplace Change-Out Voucher Incentive Program. This program offers vouchers that can be used at participating retailers in eligible zip codes to discount the cost of purchasing and installing cleaner products such as stoves, inserts, gas logs, and retrofit kits. Low-income households may also qualify for higher incentive amounts.

To make following No-Burn Days as convenient as possible, South Coast AQMD is providing several resources to the public. These include e-mail notifications, a Check Before You Burn map on their website, a toll-free phone number for daily information, web resources on their program webpage, a mobile app to check local air quality, and social media accounts on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Instagram.

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It's important to note that South Coast AQMD's No-Burn Day alerts do not apply to mountain communities above 3,000 feet in elevation, the Coachella Valley or High Desert areas, homes that rely on wood as their sole source of heat, low-income households, and those without natural gas service. Gas and other non-wood burning fireplaces are also exempt from these restrictions.

South Coast AQMD is the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality in large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley. For more information on air quality alerts and events updates, residents can visit their website at www.aqmd.gov or download their award-winning app. They can also follow South Coast AQMD on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Instagram. Let's all do our part in keeping our air clean this winter season by checking before we burn.

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