Unless your wood-burning fireplace is your only source of heat, you shouldn’t be using it, says the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. “Stable weather conditions, combined with heavy use of wood-burning devices in our region, have created pollution levels that are unhealthy for sensitive group populations,” the agency website states. Because of the air quality, the agency has expanded the “Stage 2 burn ban” to include King County. According to the website, during a Stage 2 burn ban:
* No burning is allowed in ANY wood-burning fireplaces, wood stoves or fireplace inserts (certified or uncertified) or pellet stoves, unless this is your only adequate source of heat. Residents should rely instead on their home’s other, cleaner source of heat (such as their furnace or electric baseboard heaters) for a few days until air quality improves, the public health risk diminishes and the ban is cancelled
* Even if your fireplace, pellet stove, or wood stove is your only adequate source of heat, no visible smoke is allowed.
* No outdoor fires are allowed. This includes recreational fires such as bonfires, campfires and the use of fire pits and chimineas.
* Burn ban violations are subject to a $1,000 penalty.
The use of gas and propane stoves and inserts are allowed during burn bans. (Thanks Kate for the tip!)
7 responses so far ↓
1 Iron City Mike // Dec 10, 2009 at 10:18 am
Wait….is this just a “suggestion” or is it really a law that I cannot use my fireplace?
2 Jon // Dec 10, 2009 at 11:00 am
What kind of commie ban is this!? $1k fine? No ‘visible’, smoke? How does one make smoke invisible?
Shouldn’t we have a car ban before we start banning heat? What if one of these poor old people you’re trying to save sees this? They’ll think, “Well, I guess I’m required to freeze to death, because of this ban.” Silly Seattle…
3 Jeremy // Dec 10, 2009 at 11:09 am
Is there a website that houses this information so that if I want to build a small fire in our yard I can check real quick?
4 Jeremy // Dec 10, 2009 at 11:11 am
…looks like pscleanair.org is the place.
5 Matt // Dec 10, 2009 at 11:50 am
Not sure how they plan to enforce this, as I would think it’d literally require them knocking on doors, being allowed in, investigating the house to ensure there’s another heating mechanism, then writing a ticket. I just don’t see that happening. But I’ll stick with my electric wall heaters for courtesy’s sake.
6 seattle mike // Dec 11, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Most fireplaces suck more heat out of the house than they provide, so this is a good thing for conservation reasons as well.
7 anon_tipster // Dec 11, 2009 at 2:27 pm
@Seattle Mike – how do you feel about people using them from time to time for a romantic evening? I mean, come on guys, this is sorta ridiculous.
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