No-burn alert issued across SoCal for Sunday
LOS ANGELES - Wood burning will be banned throughout Southern California Sunday due to projected high air pollution, the South Coast Air Quality Management District announced.
The South Coast AQMD issued a residential no-burn alert for everyone living in the South Coast Air Basin, which includes Orange County, and non-desert areas of Los Angeles County, Riverside County and San Bernardino County.
The ban affects all indoor and outdoor wood burning, including household wood-burning fireplaces. In addition to wood, the ban affects all manufactured fire logs, like those made out of paper or wax.
SUGGESTED: Drought emergency declared for Southern California
The alert comes as cold temperatures are sweeping through the region over the weekend. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a cold weather alert in effect from Saturday to Wednesday for Lancaster, Monday and Tuesday for Mount Wilson, and Tuesday for the Santa Clarita Valley.
"Children, the elderly and people with disabilities or special medical needs are especially vulnerable during cold weather," Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said in a statement.
No-burn alerts do not apply to mountain communities above 3,000 feet elevation, the Coachella Valley, or the High Desert; homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service.