❒ No wood burning Tuesday, per Air District

Light winds and cool, stagnant weather has prompted the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to declare today a “Spare the Air Day,” spokesman Tom Flannigan said.

Use of wood-burning devices is prohibited today, he said. Also banned are burning manufactured logs or other solid fuel, both indoors and outdoors, Flannigan said.

Breezes and cool weather are being blamed on a buildup of air pollution to unhealthy levels, he said.

“Wood smoke is a serious public health problem for residents of the Bay Area,” said Jack Broadbent, the Air District’s executive officer.

“One fireplace burning in a neighborhood is like one person smoking on an airplane. Everyone is impacted.”

Residents also aren’t allowed to use woodstoves, pellet stoves, outdoor fire pits or any other wood-burning devices unless their homes have no permanently installed heating equipment.

Use of woodstoves or fireplaces where they are the only source of heat is exempt, Flannigan said.

He also compared wood smoke to cigarette smoke, explaining that it contains fine particles and carcinogenic substances that make it harmful to breathe the air both inside and outside a building.

“Exposure to wood smoke, like cigarette smoke, has been linked to serious respiratory illnesses and even increased risk of heart attacks,” Flannigan said.

“Breathing fine particulates accounts for more than 90 percent of premature deaths related to air pollution.”

The Bay Area has 1.4 million fireplaces and woodstoves, creating the single largest source of air pollution and contributing about a third of the harmful fine particulate pollution in the air, he said.

“Wood smoke is the major source of air pollution in the Bay Area in the wintertime and is especially harmful to children, the elderly, and people with respiratory conditions,” he said.

In lieu of paying a $100 ticket, first-time violators have the option of taking a wood smoke awareness class online or by mail to learn about the hazards of wood smoke pollution, Flannigan said. The district can fine second-time violators $500; subsequent ticket amounts are higher, he said.

Anyone lighting a fire from now through Feb. 28 needs to determine the daily burn status, he said. That information is available on the Air District’s website, www.baaqmd.gov, and at www.sparetheair.org.

The status can be checked and complaints about violators can be filed by calling 877-4-NO-BURN. Residents can receive air alerts through www.sparetheair.org or by calling 800-430-1515, or through Spare the Air iPhone and Android apps.

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