Planning a wood fire? It's OK on Thanksgiving

<p>The Thanksgiving forecast calls for a nippy night - and lighting a fire for your family's Thanksgiving celebration won't violate new air pollution rules.</p><p>Lower temperatures have caused air quality officials to call three Spare the Air days banning wood burning since last Wednesday. For this Thursday, the air quality was good enough that an alert was not called.</p><p>If air quality is poor, a Spare the Air day is called, making most stove and fireplace fires illegal for much of Sonoma County. </p><p>For additional information, the air pollution district's web address is www.sparetheair.org; phone and the hotline is 1-877-4NO-BURN (1-877-466-2876).</p><p>Homes with no other source of heat are exempt.</p><p>"The overwhelming majority of the homes we've talked to have been supportive of the ban," said Lisa Fasano, an Air District spokeswoman. "Not all of them like it that much, but they realize that the smoke can make it difficult to breathe."</p><p>The regulation, first seen as a draft last November, went into effect Nov. 1. It covers an area stretching from San Jose to Windsor.</p><p>Healdsburg and portions of west Sonoma County, including Bodega Bay, Occidental and Forestville, are part of the Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District and are not restricted, though residents there also are asked to voluntarily limit fires.</p><p>Since the ban began, no citations have been issued, Fasano said. But 238 complaints of illegal burns, 11 of them from Sonoma County, have been recorded during the past month.</p><p>Of the total complaints, 52 of them were confirmed burns, and those homes will receive warnings, Fasano said.</p><p>Complaints have come from a mixture of sources, including neighbors of those who are burning and field inspectors who have spotted smoke while driving around the district, Fasano said.</p><p>Smoke from household fires becomes a problem when cold, still and low-lying winter air layers trap particulate matter close to the earth, increasing pollution rates and creating health hazards.</p><p>In the winter, according to the air quality district, wood smoke comprises 30 percent to 40 percent of all air pollution, a greater contribution than vehicle emissions.</p><p>Nov. 19, 24 and 25 were designated No Burn or Spare the Air nights. Typically, about 20 nights per winter are of low enough air quality to curtail burning.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>But district officials said they don't expect to have many violations.</p><p>Air District officials are urging wood stove and fireplace users to check the air quality report before striking a match, but as for warm Thanksgiving Day hearths, the message would-be burners will hear will likely be a heartwarming one.</p>