Air Time: Burn bans start Saturday in 5 counties

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Air Quality Program

Burn bans will start Saturday (Dec. 3, 2011) in five Eastern Washington counties to protect residents from worsening air quality.

Ecology’s Stage 1 burn bans for Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan, Ferry, and Stevens counties takes effect at noon Saturday and will continue until at least 10 a.m. Tuesday (Dec. 6). The bans could be called off or extended at that time.

The Stage 1 ban applies to unnecessary use of uncertified wood-burning devices (including wood stoves, inserts and fireplaces) and to all outdoor burning.

This means that any burning – in homes or outdoors – that starts before noon Saturday must be extinguished at the time the bans begin.

Smoke from outdoor burning and wood-burning devices builds up where cold air is trapped near the ground. Fine particles in smoke are so small they can easily get into your lungs. Once there, they can cause heart and breathing problems, and even death. Children, people with asthma and respiratory illnesses, and adults older than 65 are most at risk.

Under a Stage 1 ban:

• Use of uncertified wood-burning devices — including fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts — is prohibited unless they are a home’s only source of heat.
  
  
• All outdoor burning – including residential, agricultural and forest burning – is prohibited.
  
  
• Use of certified wood-burning devices and pellet stoves is allowed. Ecology recommends burning hot fires using only clean, dry wood.
  
  
• No excessive smoke is allowed from any wood-burning device beyond a 20-minute start-up.
  
  
• Burn ban violators are subject to civil penalties.

A 2009 Ecology analysis estimates that fine particles contribute to about 1,100 deaths and millions of dollars in health-care costs each year in Washington.

For updates, check local media reports, Ecology’s daily burn decision hotline (1-800-406-5322) and Ecology's website.

You also can check http://www.waburnbans.net/.

The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors, especially when exercising. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to people with lung and heart problems, people with diabetes, children, and older adults (over age 65).

Ecology recommends that people limit vehicle trips, combine errands or use public transportation to reduce air pollution.

You can track air quality in your area by using the Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA). This is Ecology’s tool for informing people about the health effects of air pollution, including fine particles. It uses color-coded categories to show when air quality is good, moderate or unhealthy.

For more information:
Read this Ecology focus sheet about WAQA.

See a list of certified wood stoves and other information.

Tips on getting the most heat from your firewood.

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