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Holiday Fires Leave Cloud Of Unhealthy Air In Bay Area Skies

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) -- Air quality officials are considering banning wood-burning this coming weekend after soot from holiday fires and stagnant air caused an unhealthy mix in San Francisco Bay area skies.

More than 400 people called in tips to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, saying neighbors were lighting wood fires in their homes on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Officials aimed to discourage that by issuing several "Spare the Air" alerts in recent weeks but air quality was so poor Monday it rivaled conditions following 2008's major wildfires.

Regulators have not issued any fines so far, but may crack down on repeat offenders once they sort through all the tips.

The district has gotten 2,200 complaints about fires and banned fireplace burns since Nov. 1.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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