Air Quality suffers from stormy weather: Residents Asked to Reduce Burning
Dec. 17, 2006
Air Quality became one of the casualties of last week's stormy weather.
Our region experienced unusually high levels of air pollution in recent days as a result of the widespread power outages and the amount of storm-damanged trees left in residents' yards. In the interest of public health and safety, all residents are asked to refrain from burning unless absolutely necessary. (MORE)
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As the brutal winds dissipated and died down, stagnant air conditions settled in. At the same time, thousands of households were left without power, so people turned to old, inefficient fireplaces and woodstoves for heat. Unfortunately, families who did not need to rely on wood heat also turned to burning, both in their fireplaces and in their yards to dispose of storm debris. This created region-wide clouds of smoke.
ORCAA asks that residents who have had power restored to their homes voluntarily refrain from use of their woodstoves and fireplaces at least until air quality improves throughout the region. We also ask that homeowners use alternative means of disposal to clean up their yards. Chipping and composting are the best option, though other alternatives to burning are also available. You can find more details on the options at www.orcaa.org or by calling your local waste disposal company. Residents who must rely on fireplaces or woodstoves for home heating should burn as cleanly and as efficiently as possible. By using dry wood and burning small, hot fires, residents get more heat with less smoke.
To learn about the health effects of air pollution, check out the American Lung Association of Washington's Web site at www.alaw.org.