No-Burn Order extended through Christmas Day in SoCal

The South Coast Air Quality Management District has extended a mandatory prohibition on indoor and outdoor wood burning in much of the Southland through Christmas Day due to a forecast of high air pollution in the area.

The residential wood-burning ban will be in effect until at least 11:59 p.m. Sunday. It affects all those in the South Coast Air Basin, including the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and all of Orange County.

The order does not apply to mountain communities above 3,000 feet, the Coachella Valley or the high desert. Homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service also are exempt from the requirement.

The no-burn rule prohibits burning wood as well as manufactured fire logs, such as those made from wax or paper. Gas and other non-wood burning fireplaces are not restricted, the SCAQMD said.

Fine particles in wood smoke, also known as particulate matter or PM2.5, can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems such as asthma.