Bay Area Spare The Air Alert In Effect Sunday

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS)-– The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is issuing the season's second Winter Spare the Air Alert for Sunday, December 12,which bans burning wood, manufactured fire logs or any other solid fuel, both indoors and outdoors.

"Despite the warmer temperatures we're currently experiencing in the Bay Area, pollution levels are expected to reach unhealthy levels," said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District. "A Winter Spare the Air Alert has been called to protect public health."

Air quality in the Bay Area is forecast to be unhealthy due to weather conditions that will trap the smoke in the air close to the ground. During this Winter Spare the Air Alert, it is illegal for Bay Area residents and businesses to use their fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts, pellet stoves, outdoor fire pits, or any other wood-burning devices.

Those who burn during a Winter Spare the Air Alert will receive a warning for the first violation; a second violation is subject to a $400 ticket. The ticket amount will increase with any subsequent violations. Residents and businesses that burn wood as their only source of heat are exempt from the regulation.

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