As temperatures plummet, many residents in the Federal Way area are struggling to stay warm.
For those using wood-burning heat sources, there are some extra rules this year.
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has bumped up its winter burn bans in order to reduce pollution and the impact on public health.
Although there are currently no bans on the area right now, PSCAA expects bans later in the winter months.
Right now the weather conditions, although cold and clear, are actually good for air quality because there is so much movement in the air, PSCAA spokesman Mike Schultz said.
“There’s a good mixing in the atmosphere,” Shultz said. “Although it’s cold, there is both vertical and horizontal mixing and the temperature is dropping (the higher up you go). As long as we have the mixing, we don’t foresee a burn ban happening.”
However, if the air becomes warmer in higher elevations, the pollution and stagnant air gets trapped, causing poor air quality, which can cause breathing problems especially for the young and elderly.
This year’s burn bans will be more restrictive, following a law change by the state Legislature.
The new laws will mean that stage 1 burn bans — which ban burning in wood-burning fireplaces, uncertified stoves or fireplace insets unless these are the only adequate heat sources for the home — will be called at lower pollution levels than in the past.
Stage 2 burn bans, which haven’t been called since 1991, will affect any wood burning, including certified stoves and pellet burning, unless it is the only source of heat. The PSCAA says that it is likely a stage 2 ban will be called this season.
When a ban is in effect, PSCAA increases surveillance of neighborhoods, looking for violators. If the PSCAA finds smoke coming out of a chimney, that home is automatically sent a $1,000 fine.
Homeowners can appeal the fine; in fact, Schultz recommends that.
Exeptions will be made for those whose only source of heat is the wood-burning fireplace. Also, the agency is open to alternatives including the homeowners removing or replacing the wood stove or learning about cleaner burning.
“We encourage people to get in touch with us,” Schultz said. “To appeal it or look at alternatives, particularly if they are open to doing something constructive. The goal is not to take people’s money. The goal is for clean air.”
Any outdoor burning is banned when either a stage 1 or stage 2 ban is in effect.
“People think they have the right to burn,” Schultz said. “But they don’t understand that their neighbors have the right to clean air. It’s our job to protect them too.”
For up-to-the-minute status on burn bans, PSCAA has e-mail alerts on bans at www.pscleanair.org/signup. You can also check burn-ban status by calling (800) 595-4341 or (206) 626-0074.
