Fighting fires with fines

Bay Area residents planning to strike a match in their fireplace or wood stove this winter might face heat and a hefty fine from the Air Quality Control District if the fire burns during a Spare-the-Air night.

Beginning Saturday, a new ban on burning wood on nights of poor air quality goes into effect in an area stretching from San Jose to Windsor.

The regulation imposes mandatory "no fire" days during cold nights when the particulate from wood stoves poses a greater health risk, typically about 20 nights per winter.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District can fine people who use fireplaces, wood-burning stoves or pellet stoves when the air quality is in danger of exceeding federal clean air standards.

While most of Sonoma County is included in the ban, residents in the Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District, which includes Bodega Bay, Occidental, Forestville and Healdsburg, are not.

"I will comply with the law and not build a fire on Spare the Air days," said Al Kruger of Rincon Valley, who attended hearings in Santa Rosa and opposed the regulation. "But I think it's very unfair."

The regulation, passed by the district's board in July, was heavily criticized during public hearings for not providing exemptions for people who use clean-burning, EPA-certified stoves.

"They say 'you're bad if you're burning wood.' I have an EPA fireplace and it's clean- burning," said Ron Christy, who sells wood stoves at Santa Rosa's Warming Trends. "That's how I heat my home."

But pollution control and health advocates fought for the ban, which would result in cleaner air during the winter months for children, the elderly and people with lung disease.

"It protects public health," said Kay Carney of the American Lung Association. "It will help improve our air quality and ultimately improve our lung health."

Smoke from household fires is particularly unhealthy during the winter, when cold, still air layers trap particulate matter, contributing to health problems such as asthma.

Santa Rosa resident and wood stove user Cheryl Burnette said she understands the reason for the ban.

"I don't always like to be outside when there's a heavy smoke layer going on," Burnette said. "I do try to be aware of it, but I get cold."

For Burnette, who relies on her EPA-approved fireplace to keep one room toasty through the winter, the new ban means she'll have to check to see if it's a Spare the Air night before building her fire.

It also means she may have to turn on her furnace.

"It's not always easy for me to pay the high PG&E bills," she said. "Last year it was high, and this year it'll be higher. With the fire, I just harvest wood from trees that I've trimmed."

Residents can register for automatic e-mail or telephone alerts from the air quality district at www.sparetheair.org or by calling (800) HELP-AIR (435-7247).

District officials said the regulations will affect about a million Bay Area residents.

Thirty Spare-the-Air nights were recorded between December 2006 and February 2007, most of them during January, said Ralph Borrmann, Bay Area Air Quality District spokesman. During that time, residents were encouraged not to build fires. The new regulation replaces that voluntary program.

Residents using a wood-burning device on a Spare-the-Air night this year will first be issued a warning that they are in violation of the regulation, Borrmann said.

District inspectors who already monitor various air quality violations will be responsible for enforcing the regulation, Borrmann said. The district will also respond to complaints from residents suspecting violations.

Residents whose only heat source is a fireplace or stove are exempt from the regulation. Gas fireplaces are also exempt, but clean-burning stoves, including those certified by the EPA, are not exempt.

Fines up to $1,000 will be levied on a case-by-case basis, district officials said, with severe violators potentially facing even greater fines. But district officials said they don't expect to have many violations.

"We think people, once they understand the health concerns, they will abide by the rule and refrain from burning wood," Borrmann said.

You can reach Staff Writer Laura Norton at 521-5220

or laura.norton@

pressdemocrat.com.