Air district says don’t burn wood Saturday in Valley

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is banning wood burning in the Valley on Saturday except for registered devices.

Fresno, Madera, Kings, Tulare, Stanislaus, Merced counties and the Valley portion of Kern County are included in the mandatory curtailment.

The daylong curtailment will end at midnight and will prohibit the use of unregistered devices due to poor air quality. The use of manufactured fire logs, outdoor burning devices, chimneys, burning of wood and pellets in unregistered residential stoves and inserts is off limits.

Residences who use solid fuel as their main source of heat or do not have access to natural-gas service are exempt from wood-burning prohibitions.

Check Before You Burn, a program overseen by the Valley’s air pollution control district, operates during the winter season to reduce particle pollution by limiting the use wood burning. This pollution provokes respiratory illnesses, like asthma, lung infections and bronchitis.

To register your device visit www.valleyair.org/cbybregistration.

Residents can visit www.valleyair.org/CBYB or call 1-800-766-4463 to find out the restrictions for their county.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Air district says don’t burn wood Saturday in Valley."