Beginning November 1st, residents are asked to “Check Before You Burn” and avoid burning wood in residential fireplaces, backyard fire pits and wood stoves on days when poor air quality is forecast. Avoiding wood burning is one of the most effective measures residents can take to help improve indoor and outdoor air quality on winter with poor air quality.

The annual Check Before You Burn season lasts from November through the last day of February, when emissions and stagnant weather conditions may increase levels of fine particulates in the air. South Coast AQMD issues mandatory No-Burn alerts on days when poor air quality is expected due to particulate pollution.

There are several ways you can Check Before You Burn:

• E-mail notification program – Sign up at www.airalerts.org to receive notifications of air quality and when a mandatory No-Burn alert has been issued.

• Visit our Check Before You Burn Map - for daily forecast information.

• Toll-Free phone number – Call 866-966- 3293 for daily Check Before You Burn information.

• Mobile app – Download the South Coast AQMD app to check local air quality

• Social media - Follow South Coast AQMD’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For more information visit our Check Before You Burn web pages.