A residential No Burn Day, issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for the areas in the South Coast Air Basin including Riverside County, has been extended through Sunday.
The No Burn ban includes burning wood in fireplaces or any indoor or outdoor wood-burning device including manufactured fire logs form wax or paper. The ban is effective through Saturday evening.
“No Burn day alerts are mandatory in order to protect public health when levels of fine particulate air pollution in the region are forecast to be high,” the SCAQMD announced.
“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), increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations.”
The alert covers the South Coast Air Basin, including large areas of Riverside and San Bernardino — except the High Desert and Coachella Valley — Los Angeles and Orange counties.
South Coast AQMD’s Check Before You Burn program is in effect through the end of February, when particulate levels are highest.
Homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service are exempt from the requirement. Gas and other non-wood burning fireplaces are not restricted, according to the AQMD.
More information was available at www.aqmd.gov/home/air-quality/air-alerts.