Mountain fire fouls the air, forcing a wood-burning ban just as fall cooldown begins
Friday night’s predicted low temperature of 51 degrees in Los Angeles might tempt some to light a cozy fall fire. But residents in a large swath of Southern California should refrain from burning wood Friday — the destructive Mountain fire has thrown air pollutants into a frenzy, air quality officials said.
Orange County and non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties are required to stop burning wood, including manufactured logs made of wax or paper, anywhere indoors or outdoors from midnight through 11:59 p.m. Friday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District said Thursday. It is the first scheduled no-burn day of the 2024-25 season.
Mountain communities above 3,000-feet elevation, the Coachella Valley and the high desert are exempt from the ban, along with homes that rely on wood as the sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service.
Breathing in fine particles, such as those from burning wood, can cause respiratory problems, air quality officials said, including asthma attacks. Officials suggest staying inside, avoiding physical activity and running the AC or air purifier in your home.
Satellite imagery showcases the Mountain fire’s fury as homes are reduced to rubble and a vast plume of smoke stretches into the atmosphere.
A smoke advisory was also set for parts of Los Angeles County until Saturday afternoon due to the Mountain fire, which has burned more than 20,000 acres in Ventura County and destroyed more than a hundred homes as of Thursday evening.
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