Southland air district limits fireplace use
Curling up in front of a cozy wood fire on a nippy night will be banned in many parts of Southern California on bad air days under new regulations passed Friday by regional air regulators.
Citing public health concerns in the heavily polluted Los Angeles Basin, the South Coast Air Quality Management District board voted unanimously to impose hefty fines on homeowners who burn wood in fireplaces on high-pollution days during winter months -- usually about two dozen days.
"This is a fair trade-off," district Executive Director Barry Wallerstein said. "This is about trading personal rights for cleaner air and public health."
Builders will be banned from installing wood-burning fireplaces in new homes, and it will be illegal to buy and install one when remodeling a home. Gas-burning fireplaces will be allowed.
Restaurants with wood-fired ovens, such as California Pizza Kitchen, will not be affected by daily bans. Nor will homeowners who rely on a fireplace for heat, or who have properties at an elevation above 3,000 feet.
Coastal areas that don't experience as many high-pollution days probably will be unaffected. Beach fires and ceremonial fires used by tribes also will be allowed.
Fireplaces are used in about 1.4 million of the 5 million households governed by the district, producing an average six tons a day of particulate soot in the air basin, according to the air district.
Numerous studies have linked fine particulate matter, which sinks deep into the lungs, to increased lung and respiratory problems. State officials say an estimated 5,000 premature deaths each year in the region are linked to fine particulate exposure.
About 106 tons of fine particulate soot is directly emitted every day in the Los Angeles area, according to the air district. The new regulations will reduce that by an average of about 1 ton a day.
The winter wood-burning ban will apply in areas where forecasts show federal daily limits for fine particulate matter will be exceeded. That will amount to about two dozen days from November to March each year, regulators said.
Residents most likely to be affected by the regulation include those in the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley, where soot carried by prevailing winds is trapped by mountains.
Many see any kind of ban as an invasion of home and hearth.
