Seasonal burning ban, who can burn and when

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- What a difference one day makes.

Monday, it was legal to light a fire, in that old fireplace.

But Tuesday because the air is still and pollution is trapped, there is no burning allowed, unless you have a registered, clean burning device, or a natural gas fireplace.

It is the time of year when having a warm fire in your home seems appealing, but if you are still burning wood, be aware.

Heather Heinks said, "When you are thinking about having a wood burning fire in your home you need to check in to find out what the declaration is for your county, for that day."

There are three declarations for wood burning, no burning at all, no burning unless in a registered device and the last category wood burning with no restrictions.

"Those days happen very infrequently, the reason being the most polluting devices are open hearth fireplaces," said Heinks.

Replacing open hearth fireplaces, or old wood pellet stoves with a certified clean burning device qualifies for a $1000 rebate.

Kevin O'Neal said, "We have a lot of customers switching from dirty burning to a clean burning device whether its wood, gas or pellet."

Then to get the most use out of the device, to be able to burn more often get it registered.

Heinks said, "There are days called no burning unless registered and that is what we are having today across the entire valley. So if you've got a clean burning device check in with valley air dot org and get registered with us and you can burn on days like today."

Getting it registered requires an inspection every three years, by a technician.

"And there's a few things they will check, one is the glass to make sure it's not fractured, or leaking, the gasket around the glass, or the gasket around the door to see it seals airtight. They will also look up inside the unit there are some stainless steel burn tubes up there," said O'Neal.

Those inspections cost more than a 100 dollars but enable users to burn when most others can not.

Using a natural gas fireplace is always okay and folks who do not have access to natural gas and have no other source of heat in their home are allowed to burn wood. Outdoor burning with fire pits, unless they are gas fueled are also not allowed on no burn days.

You can go online to Valley Air's website to find out whether it is okay to burn wood.