Below are the most recent Burn Ban announcements in King County
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BOLD HEADING for more information
Stage 1 burn ban called for King and Kitsap Counties, Stage 2 burn ban called for Pierce and Snohomish Counties
Please rely on your home’s cleaner source of heat until air quality returns to healthy levels.
[January 1, 2011] – Air pollution levels continue to rise and stagnant weather conditions are forecasted to cotinue into the week. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is issuing a Stage 1 burn ban for King and Kitsap Counties, and upgrading Pierce and Snohomish Counties to a Stage 2 burn ban, effective at 2:00 p.m. today, January 1, 2010. These bans are in effect until further notice.
http://goo.gl/2T15z
“Somewhere out there is an asthmatic child or someone with lung or heart disease who wants to get out and enjoy this holiday weekend just like the rest of us. We are calling this burn ban to protect their health and the health of everyone in the community, because everyone has the right to breathe clean air,” says Craig Kenworthy, executive director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.
The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to children, people with heart and lung problems, and adults over age 65.
A ridge of high pressure in the eastern Pacific is expected to bring cold evenings and poor ventilation to the Pacific Northwest for the next several days and possibly through the end of the week. This will likely result in Moderate air quality through the Sound, and regions with high prevalence of wood burning will likely see UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS, and UNHEALTHY air quality.
During any burn ban:
- No outdoor fires are allowed. This includes recreational fires such as bonfires, campfires and the use of fire pits and chimineas; even in areas where otherwise permitted by law.
During a Stage 1 burn ban:
- No burning is allowed in fireplaces or uncertified wood stoves or inserts, 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.
- No visible smoke is allowed from any wood stove or fireplace, certified or not, beyond a 20-minute start-up period – and even if it is the only adequate source of heat.
- Burn ban violations are subject to a $1,000 penalty.
It is OK to use natural gas, propane, pellet and EPA certified wood stoves or inserts during a Stage 1 burn ban.
During a Stage 2 burn ban:
- No burning is allowed in any fireplace, pellet stove or wood stove (certified or not), unless it is your only adequate source of heat.
- No visible smoke is allowed from any solid fuel burning device at any time.
- Burn ban violations are subject to a $1,000 penalty.
It is OK to use natural gas or propane fireplaces.
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency staff will continue to monitor the situation. You can check conditions and forecasts at www.pscleanair.org/airq/aqi.aspx# The purpose of a burn ban is to reduce the amount of pollution that is creating unhealthy air. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency wants to remind people who burn wood, whether occasionally or often, that it is important to always check burn ban status before lighting a fire and to obey burn bans.
Again, please rely on your home’s cleaner source of heat until air quality returns to healthy levels. A list of frequently asked questions and answers about burn bans is available on the Clean Air Agency’s web site at www.pscleanair.org/airq/burnban/faqs.aspx . For additional information, visit www.pscleanair.org.
If you live in certain areas of Tacoma and unincorporated Pierce County, this is a great time to take advantage of the Wood Smoke Reduction Program which offers $5,500 – $8,000 to help people replace their old, polluting wood stove by upgrading to energy-efficient heating devices and weatherizing their homes. The program is currently limited to residents who live in seven ZIP codes in part of Tacoma and surrounding unincorporated Pierce County communities. These are 98404, 98408, 98409, 98444, 98445, 98446 and 98373 outside the City of Puyallup. Other restrictions apply. For eligibility requirements and details on how to participate, visit www.pscleanair.org/woodstove.
These seven ZIP codes are most impacted by the elevated pollution levels measured at the South L Street air-quality monitor in Tacoma. This monitor has measured 24-hour pollution levels in violation of federal air quality standards for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). As a result, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated portions of Tacoma and Pierce County as a “nonattainment” area for fine particle pollution, which means that pollution levels pose a health concern and exceed national air quality standards.
For additional information visit www.pscleanair.org .
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The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is an air quality management agency serving King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Created as a result of the 1967 Washington Clean Air Act, the agency protects public health and improves air quality by adopting and enforcing air quality regulations, educating individuals and businesses about clean-air choices and sponsoring voluntary initiatives to improve air quality.
September 21, 2010 - WA state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has lifted the statewide burn ban on DNR protected lands today. The ban was scheduled to conclude as early as September 30, 2010. However, heavy rains and recent low temperatures have eased fire danger.
However, your specific county or fire district may have existing seasonal bans in place. Contact your local air authority and fire district to determine if burn restrictions still exist in your area. Locate the telephone number and/or website for your air authority here.
Visit the WA DNR web site for more information :
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BURN BAN ON ALL DNR-PROTECTED LANDS
In Effect July 15 – September 30, 2010
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced there will be a statewide burn ban on all DNR-protected lands July 15, 2010, through September 30, 2010. This means all forestlands in Washington except for federal lands.
“The threat of wildfires from escaped outdoor burning is high during the summer months due to unusual fire danger,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark. “Wildfires are dangerous for people and property and result in large expenditures of public funding that can be avoided through prudent actions to prevent them.”
The ban applies to all outdoor burning, including currently permitted burns, with the following exceptions:
- Recreational fires in approved fire pits within designated state, county, municipal or other campgrounds, or
- DNR-approved prescribed fire, implemented to enhance or restore fire-dependent ecosystems and forest health, when enhancement and restoration by prescribed fire can only be accomplished successfully during the period of time from July 15th, 2010, through September 30th, 2010, or
- As approved in writing by DNR when there are compelling reasons for an exception.
The use of gas and propane self-contained stoves and barbeques will continue to be allowed under the ban.
This burn ban takes precedence over and supersedes all other burn bans currently in effect on forestlands except federal lands.
Media Contact: Janet Pearce, Communications and Outreach, 360-902-1122, janet.pearce@dnr.wa.gov
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The Stage 2 burn ban issued on December 8 for Snohomish County and December 9 for King, Kitsap and Pierce counties is lifted, effective at 10:00 a.m., December 13, 2009. http://www.pscleanair.org/news/newsroom/releases/2009/12_13_09_burn_ban_lifted.aspx
The current weather pattern has brought improved mixing and dispersion of fine particle pollution. As a result, air quality has improved sufficiently to allow the lifting our Stage 2 burn ban. Good air quality conditions are expected for the next 72 hours.
We appreciate the public’s cooperation with the burn ban, and encourage people to check current air quality conditions and air quality forecasts at our Web site http://www.pscleanair.org/airq/aqi.aspx# before they burn. Conditions can change quickly this time of year.
For those who heat with wood, please remember that it is always illegal to emit excess chimney smoke and to smoke out your neighbor. You know you are burning properly when you do not see any smoke coming from your chimney. To learn more about the most efficient and cleanest burning techniques, visit http://www.pscleanair.org/burningbasics .
For additional information regarding burn bans or other air quality topics visit http://www.pscleanair.org .
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The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is an air quality management agency serving King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Created as a result of the 1967 Washington Clean Air Act, the agency protects public health and improves air quality by adopting and enforcing air quality regulations, educating individuals and businesses about clean-air choices and sponsoring voluntary initiatives to improve air quality.
December 11, 2009 – Due to continuing stagnant weather conditions and elevated air pollution levels, the Stage 2 burn ban called by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency for King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties remains in effect.
http://www.pscleanair.org/news/newsroom/releases/2009/12_11_09_burn_ban_continues.aspx
According to the agency’s meteorology staff, the temperature inversion that has impacted the region this week is still in place while wood burning continues in some communities. This has created pollution levels that are unhealthy for sensitive group populations (the very young, elderly and those individuals with heart and lung ailments).
A change in the weather pattern may allow lifting of the burn ban as early as Sunday afternoon.
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.
It is OK to use natural gas and propane stoves or inserts during a Stage 2 burn ban.
This ban is in effect until further notice. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency staff will continue to monitor the situation to determine when the burn ban can be lifted. You can check conditions and forecasts at www.pscleanair.org/airq/aqi.aspx# .
The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to children, people with heart and lung problems, and adults over age 65.
This is the first burn ban of the winter heating season. A list of frequently asked questions and answers about burn bans is available on the Clean Air Agency’s web site at www.pscleanair.org/airq/burnban/faqs.aspx . For additional information, visit www.pscleanair.org.
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The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is an air quality management agency serving King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Created because of the 1967 Washington Clean Air Act, the agency protects public health and improves air quality by adopting and enforcing air quality regulations, educating individuals and businesses about clean-air choices and sponsoring voluntary initiatives to improve air quality.
