OLYMPIA – A burn ban in Kittitas County will expire Saturday (Jan. 14, 2012) because forecasts show changing weather conditions will improve air quality there, according to the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology).

Ecology’s Stage 1 burn ban for Kittitas County will expire at 4 p.m. Saturday.

During a Stage 1 ban, use of uncertified wood-burning devices (including wood stoves, inserts and fireplaces) and all outdoor burning are prohibited.

These activities may resume after the burn ban expires. However, Ecology urges people to think twice before burning because smoke from outdoor burning and wood-burning devices easily builds up at this time of year, when stagnant air conditions can trap smoke close to the ground.

Fine particles in smoke are so small they can easily get into your lungs. Once there, they can cause heart and breathing problems, and even death. Children, people with asthma and respiratory illnesses, and adults older than 65 are most at risk.

By limiting burning as much as possible, residents of affected areas can help prevent air quality from deteriorating to the point that burn bans are needed. And by following restrictions when burn bans are called, they can help limit the time period the bans are in effect.

A 2009 Ecology analysis estimates that fine particles contribute to about 1,100 deaths and about $190 million in health-care costs each year in Washington. (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0902021.html)

For burn ban updates:

* Check local media reports.
* Call Ecology’s daily burn decision hotline (1-800-406-5322 in Washington).
* Check Ecology’s burn bans web page. (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/outdoor_woodsmoke/burn_ban.htm)
* Go online to www.waburnbans.net.

You can report burn ban violators by calling Ecology’s smoke complaint hotline (1-866-211-6284).

The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors, especially when exercising. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to people with lung and heart problems, people with diabetes, children, and older adults (over age 65).

Ecology recommends that people limit vehicle trips, combine errands or use public transportation to reduce air pollution.

You can track air quality in your area by using the Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA). This is Ecology’s tool for informing people about the health effects of air pollution, including fine particles. It uses color-coded categories to show when air quality is good, moderate or unhealthy. (https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/Default.htm)

For more information about WAQA, see this Ecology focus sheet. (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0802022.pdf)

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See a list of certified wood stoves and other information (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/indoor_woodsmoke/wood_smoke_page.htm)

Tips on getting the most heat from your firewood
(http://burndryfirewood.com/)

Ecology’s Stage 1 burn ban for Kittitas County will continue until at least 4 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 14), when it could be called off or extended. The Stage 1 ban applies to unnecessary use of uncertified wood-burning devices (including wood stoves, inserts and fireplaces) and to all outdoor burning.

Ecology’s burn bans do not apply to tribal lands, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has jurisdiction.

Smoke from outdoor burning and wood-burning devices builds up where cold air is trapped near the ground. Fine particles in smoke are so small they can easily get into your lungs. Once there, they can cause heart and breathing problems, and even death. Children, people with asthma and respiratory illnesses, and adults older than 65 are most at risk.

Under a Stage 1 ban:

• Use of uncertified wood-burning devices – including fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts – is prohibited unless they are a home’s only source of heat. Uncertified units typically were built before 1990 and lack a certification label on the back of the unit.

• All outdoor burning – including residential, agricultural and forest burning – is prohibited.

• Use of certified wood-burning devices and pellet stoves is allowed. Ecology recommends burning hot fires using only clean, dry wood.

• No excessive smoke is allowed from any wood-burning device beyond a 20-minute start-up.

• Burn ban violators are subject to civil penalties.

A 2009 Ecology analysis estimates that fine particles contribute to about 1,100 deaths and millions of dollars in health-care costs each year in Washington. (www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0902021.html)

For burn ban updates:

• Check local media reports.
• Call Ecology’s daily burn decision hotline (1-800-406-5322 in Washington).
• Check Ecology’s burn bans web page. (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/outdoor_woodsmoke/burn_ban.htm)
• Go online to www.waburnbans.net.

You can report burn ban violators by calling Ecology’s smoke complaint hotline (1-866-211-6284).

The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors, especially when exercising. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to people with lung and heart problems, people with diabetes, children, and older adults (over age 65).

Ecology recommends that people limit vehicle trips, combine errands or use public transportation to reduce air pollution.

You can track air quality in your area by using the Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA). This is Ecology’s tool for informing people about the health effects of air pollution, including fine particles. It uses color-coded categories to show when air quality is good, moderate or unhealthy. (https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/Default.htm)

For more information about WAQA, see this Ecology focus sheet. (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0802022.pdf)

###

See a list of certified wood stoves and other information (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/indoor_woodsmoke/wood_smoke_page.htm)

Tips on getting the most heat from your firewood
(http://burndryfirewood.com/)

Ecology’s website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov

Ecology’s social media: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/about/newmedia.html

Ecology’s Stage 1 burn bans for Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens, Kittitas, and Walla Walla counties will expire at 10 a.m. today.

During the burn bans, use of uncertified wood-burning devices (including wood stoves, inserts and fireplaces) and all outdoor burning were prohibited.

These activities may resume now that the burn bans are lifted. However, Ecology urges people to think twice before burning because smoke from outdoor burning and wood-burning devices easily builds up at this time of year, when stagnant air conditions can trap smoke close to the ground.

Fine particles in smoke are so small they can easily get into your lungs. Once there, they can cause heart and breathing problems, and even death. Children, people with asthma and respiratory illnesses, and adults older than 65 are most at risk.

By limiting burning as much as possible, residents of affected areas can help prevent air quality from deteriorating to the point that burn bans are needed. And by following restrictions when burn bans are called, they can help limit the time period the bans are in effect.

A 2009 Ecology analysis estimates that fine particles contribute to about 1,100 deaths and millions of dollars in health-care costs each year in Washington. (www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0902021.html)

For burn ban updates:

• Check local media reports.
• Call Ecology’s smoke complaint hotline (1-866-211-6284).
• Check Ecology’s daily burn decision hotline (1-800-406-5322 in Washington) and Ecology’s website. (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/outdoor_woodsmoke/burn_ban.htm)
• Go online to www.waburnbans.net.

The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors, especially when exercising. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to people with lung and heart problems, people with diabetes, children, and older adults (over age 65).

Ecology recommends that people limit vehicle trips, combine errands or use public transportation to reduce air pollution.

You can track air quality in your area by using the Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA). This is Ecology’s tool for informing people about the health effects of air pollution, including fine particles. It uses color-coded categories to show when air quality is good, moderate or unhealthy. (https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/Default.htm)

For more information about WAQA, see this Ecology focus sheet. (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0802022.pdf)

Ecology’s Stage 1 burn bans for Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens, Kittitas, and Walla Walla counties will continue until at least 10 a.m. Tuesday, when they could be called off or extended. The Stage 1 bans apply to unnecessary use of uncertified wood-burning devices (including wood stoves, inserts and fireplaces) and to all outdoor burning.

Ecology’s burn bans do not apply to tribal lands, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has jurisdiction.

Smoke from outdoor burning and wood-burning devices builds up where cold air is trapped near the ground. Fine particles in smoke are so small they can easily get into your lungs. Once there, they can cause heart and breathing problems, and even death. Children, people with asthma and respiratory illnesses, and adults older than 65 are most at risk.

Under a Stage 1 ban:

• Use of uncertified wood-burning devices – including fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts – is prohibited unless they are a home’s only source of heat.

• All outdoor burning – including residential, agricultural and forest burning – is prohibited.

• Use of certified wood-burning devices and pellet stoves is allowed. Ecology recommends burning hot fires using only clean, dry wood.

• No excessive smoke is allowed from any wood-burning device beyond a 20-minute start-up.

• Burn ban violators are subject to civil penalties.

A 2009 Ecology analysis estimates that fine particles contribute to about 1,100 deaths and millions of dollars in health-care costs each year in Washington. (www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0902021.html)

For updates, check local media reports, Ecology’s daily burn decision hotline (1-800-406-5322 in Washington) and Ecology’s website. (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/outdoor_woodsmoke/burn_ban.htm) You also can check www.waburnbans.net.

The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors, especially when exercising. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to people with lung and heart problems, people with diabetes, children, and older adults (over age 65).

Ecology recommends that people limit vehicle trips, combine errands or use public transportation to reduce air pollution.

You can track air quality in your area by using the Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA). This is Ecology’s tool for informing people about the health effects of air pollution, including fine particles. It uses color-coded categories to show when air quality is good, moderate or unhealthy. (https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/Default.htm)

For more information about WAQA, see this Ecology focus sheet. (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0802022.pdf)

###

See a list of certified wood stoves and other information (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/indoor_woodsmoke/wood_smoke_page.htm)

Tips on getting the most heat from your firewood
(http://burndryfirewood.com/)

Ecology’s website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov

Ecology’s social media: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/about/newmedia.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Dec. 12, 2011

11-350

                         Burn bans continue in seven Eastern Washington counties

         OLYMPIA – Burn bans will continue until at least 10 a.m., Thursday (Dec. 15, 2011) in seven Eastern Washington counties  because stagnant air continues to trap harmful smoke, according to the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology).

       Ecology’s Stage 1 burn bans for Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens, and Walla Walla counties will continue until at least 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, when they could be called off or extended. The Stage 1 bans apply to unnecessary use of uncertified wood-burning devices (including wood stoves, inserts and fireplaces) and to all outdoor burning.

       Ecology’s burn bans do not apply to tribal lands, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has jurisdiction.

       Smoke from outdoor burning and wood-burning devices builds up where cold air is trapped near the ground. Fine particles in smoke are so small they can easily get into your lungs. Once there, they can cause heart and breathing problems, and even death. Children, people with asthma and respiratory illnesses, and adults older than 65 are most at risk.

       Under a Stage 1 ban:

 • Use of uncertified wood-burning devices – including fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts – is prohibited unless they are a home’s only source of heat.

 • All outdoor burning – including residential, agricultural and forest burning – is prohibited.

 • Use of certified wood-burning devices and pellet stoves is allowed. Ecology recommends burning hot fires using only clean, dry wood.

 • No excessive smoke is allowed from any wood-burning device beyond a 20-minute start-up.

 • Burn ban violators are subject to civil penalties.

        A 2009 Ecology analysis estimates that fine particles contribute to about 1,100 deaths and millions of dollars in health-care costs each year in Washington. (www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0902021.html)

              For updates, check local media reports, Ecology’s daily burn decision hotline (1-800-406-5322) and Ecology’s website (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/outdoor_woodsmoke/burn_ban.htm).  You also can check www.waburnbans.net.

       The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors, especially when exercising. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to people with lung and heart problems, people with diabetes, children, and older adults (over age 65).

       Ecology recommends that people limit vehicle trips, combine errands or use public transportation to reduce air pollution.

       You can track air quality in your area by using the Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA). This is Ecology’s tool for informing people about the health effects of air pollution, including fine particles. It uses color-coded categories to show when air quality is good, moderate or unhealthy. (https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/Default.htm)

       For more information about WAQA, see this Ecology focus sheet.  (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0802022.pdf)

       ###

       Media Contact:

Jani Gilbert, Ecology communications manager, 509-329-3495; 509-990-9177 cell; jani.gilbert@ecy.wa.gov

 See a list of certified wood stoves and other information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/indoor_woodsmoke/wood_smoke_page.htm

 Tips on getting the most heat from your firewood: http://burndryfirewood.com/

 Ecology’s website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov

 Ecology’s social media: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/about/newmedia.html

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