Spare The Air Alert Issued For Monday

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued a Winter Spare the Air alert for Monday, its 16th alert this season.

The Spare the Air alert bans wood burning both indoors and outdoors due to unhealthy pollution levels throughout the Bay Area.

"Dry weather is forecast for the week and threatens to cause high levels of pollution to build up through the Christmas holiday," air district executive officer Jack Broadbent said.

Only homes without permanently installed heating are exempt from the wood-burning ban.

First-time violators are given the option of taking a wood smoke awareness class in lieu of paying a $100 fine. Subsequent violations result in higher fines.

The daily burn status in the Bay Area can be found online at www.baaqmd.gov or www.sparetheair.org, by calling (877) 4-NO-BURN or by signing up for Spare the Air iPhone or Android apps.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed)