Spare the air days ...

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robespierre

ArboristSite Operative
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california
Pretty cold last night as well as tonight will be and we already have 2 spare the air days.$200 fine for first time caught or attend a class to get off the hook.I see it being a bad year for this bs. My furnace sucks.
 
There are a few states I simply could not/ would not live in.

I'm sorry for ya. Want to heat, but can't..and this is called progress. Wood heat is about as dang green as it gets.
 
Pretty cold last night as well as tonight will be and we already have 2 spare the air days.$200 fine for first time caught or attend a class to get off the hook.I see it being a bad year for this bs. My furnace sucks.
Can you explain what you are talking about, for those of us who are uninformed?
Are you not allowed to burn at all, or only at certain times or days?
 
Some evenings about 7:30 this time of year I do wood deliveries to areas outside of the perimeter of Atlanta GA and it looks like the place is on fire from all of the smoke.

Breathing trumps heating with wood. Maybe the superinsulation route would be better for you.

Good point. Our more populated areas are under a burning ban. Our sparsely populated area is not. Seems like a passive solar house design might be a good solution along with the super insulation. It works up at this latitude, when the sun is out.
 
Can you explain what you are talking about, for those of us who are uninformed?
Are you not allowed to burn at all, or only at certain times or days?

We West Coastians are not allowed to burn on days like we've had this week, in some heavily populated counties because we have topography. During high pressure weather events we have cold air sinking low in the valleys, no winds and the smoke builds up so badly you can see what you are about to drop into when driving down from the mountains. This usually coincides with cold weather.
It is called an inversion. It also might be 30 degrees at 4500 feet and be 20 degrees warmer at 6000 feet.

Around here, our normal rainy weather fronts usually keep things cleared out.
 
Never heard of 'spare the air days', but sounds unfriendly for ya. Sorry to hear it. I'm in a pretty user-unfriendly state myself.
I read a report this morning from the 'climate summit' that's going on in Poland. One thing that struck me was a comment that a year of California's efforts at 'being green?' are negated by one week of China's just doing what they do. I won't comment further on the likely ramifications of this imbalance.
 
There's a handful of days throughout the year that we're not allowed to have any fires. There's a website you're supposed to check out before you light your fire that tells you if you can be warm that day or not. It's a bunch of bureaucratic BS that most people ignore. The chances of getting caught by the chimney police are slim to none...most people that get fined were turned in by their neighbor that they wouldn't let borrow their lawnmower 5 years ago and still hold a grudge.
 
We need to solve this inversion problem. Maybe bore a huge tunnel out of the valleys and plumb it directly to the state capitol building. That'd solve a lot of problems. Many of you might not know this, but after the first of the year it'll be illegal (with exceptions to the in-state industries of course) to drive a semi truck older than 2008 into Kalifornia. All because CARB wants to be the world arbiter of what's "clean". Thanks for the useless gas cans, btw.
 
We need to solve this inversion problem. Maybe bore a huge tunnel out of the valleys and plumb it directly to the state capitol building. That'd solve a lot of problems. Many of you might not know this, but after the first of the year it'll be illegal (with exceptions to the in-state industries of course) to drive a semi truck older than 2008 into Kalifornia. All because CARB wants to be the world arbiter of what's "clean". Thanks for the useless gas cans, btw.

Well, that's strange..does that apply to mexican trucks and truckers as well? I am not being snarky, just wondering, because it appears to be a lot of exceptions to the rule when it applies or can be applied to south of the alleged border people and things that go on, like two sets of laws.
 
We need to solve this inversion problem. Maybe bore a huge tunnel out of the valleys and plumb it directly to the state capitol building. That'd solve a lot of problems. Many of you might not know this, but after the first of the year it'll be illegal (with exceptions to the in-state industries of course) to drive a semi truck older than 2008 into Kalifornia. All because CARB wants to be the world arbiter of what's "clean". Thanks for the useless gas cans, btw.
i know what you really wanted to say about the gas cans.:laugh::givebeer:
 
We West Coastians are not allowed to burn on days like we've had this week, in some heavily populated counties because we have topography. During high pressure weather events we have cold air sinking low in the valleys, no winds and the smoke builds up so badly you can see what you are about to drop into when driving down from the mountains. This usually coincides with cold weather.
It is called an inversion. It also might be 30 degrees at 4500 feet and be 20 degrees warmer at 6000 feet.

Around here, our normal rainy weather fronts usually keep things cleared out.

That clears things up, thanks. I figured that it had something to do with air quality, was just unsure what triggered it.
How often does this type of situation occur?
How long do the bans usually last?
If often and lengthy, I can see this situation creating a significant financial burden for some families, as well as being a general pain in the ass.
When a ban is in effect, is it only wood burners that are shut down, or is industry that contributes to the problem affected as well?
 
I've lived in California for over thirty years but it was always in a rural area with no home heating burn restrictions. I now live in the Sacramento area, so on this sort of day I can't have a fire in my fireplace (I haven't used it yet, and really signed in today to look at relevant threads to using a regular open fireplace).

Anyhow, as wood burners we all need to accept the fact that it is irresponsible wood burners who cause this sort of thing. From burning garbage to burning wet or green wood, or throttling down an airtight to the point it's barely still burning; we all know what makes the smoke and we know how to avoid it. I'll make a bold statement: if everybody burned dry, seasoned wood and kept their fire going hot enough to avoid billowing smoke, there would be no restrictions (no need for them). Unfortunately we get lumped in with the bozo's who are burning junk or making their fires super smoky that actually cause the problems.

To me it's no different than choosing not to burn on a cool, breezy but very dry day, especially if we haven't really had any rain yet and I haven't cleaned my gutters recently. Likely to cause problems so I don't burn, just being responsible and a good neighbor.

If wood is your only source of heat you're exempt (in Sacramento). I would be surprised if there's not a program through the utility company to assist with insulation or more efficient furnaces for those who need it. If you can afford to upgrade but choose not to, well, I guess it's your choice then.

Local/regional Air Quality Management Districts (burn restrictions) are a different animal from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) with their "guaranteed spill" fuel cans and their diesel restrictions.

http://www.sparetheair.com/publications/CBYB_FAQ_English_2013.pdf
Q: Are there exemptions?

A:
The following exemptions apply to both Stage 1 – No Burn and Stage 2 – All Burning Prohibited categories:

• Homes where wood burning is the sole source of heat

• Financial hardship waiver approved and renewed each burn season by the Air Pollution Control Officer

• Devices that operate exclusively with natural gas or propane

• Cooking devices

• Ceremonial fires related to a specific religious ceremony

There is also an exemption during Stage 1 – No Burn days for those who have an EPA certified fireplace insert or stove,

or pellet-fueled device, and they do not emit visible smoke.
 

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