Fires and Air

Particulate matter, fine particles that can get into our eyes and noses, and can stay trapped in sensitive areas of our lungs;
Cancer-causing substances, including benzene, formaldehyde and polycyclic organic matter;
Carbon monoxide, which reduces the blood’s ability to supply oxygen to tissues;
Nitrogen oxides (NOx), and hydrocarbons, both involved in the formation of ozone, a principal component of smog.

How to Protect Your Family from the Health Effects of Smoke

Check out the Santa Barbara County Fire Department website above, for information on assembling a disaster kit, establishing a “defensible space” directly around your home, and more.
Check this website for smoke advisories and updates. But also use common sense. If it smells smoky outside, it's not a good time for you or your children to exercise outdoors.
If you are advised to stay indoors, keep indoor air as clean as possible. Keep your windows and doors closed — unless it's extremely hot outside. If you have an air conditioner, run it with the fresh air intake closed and the filter clean. Don’t use fireplaces, gas logs, or candles, don’t vacuum, and don’t smoke.
When smoke is heavy for a prolonged period of time, fine particles can build up indoors even though you may not be able to see them. If you have heart or lung disease, are an older adult, or have children, talk with your doctor about whether and when you should leave the area.
Be sure to call your doctor if your symptoms worsen.

Recent health studies have shown that air pollution can cause problems at even lower levels of pollution than was previously thought. Elevated levels of particulate matter have been linked to increased numbers of emergency room visits for heart problems. NOx and ozone have been shown to harm lung development in children, and have been linked with development of early childhood asthma. Air pollution has also been shown to play a role in the development of lung cancer.

For more information on smoke impacts, see www.airquality.org/smokeimpact, a web page developed for the public by the California Air Pollution Control Officer's Association. The page lists the health impacts of smoke and protective measures, and includes links for additional information.

Fireplaces and Woodstoves

Fireplaces and woodstoves are an inefficient way to generate heat. They can turn a large part of your firewood into smoke instead of heat. Wood burns completely only at very high temperatures. Small, hot fires produce much less smoke, and are a much more efficient way to generate heat.

You can increase the efficiency (and reduce the smoke production) of your fireplace or woodstove by doing some of the following:

Switching to a gas fireplace
Installing a fireplace insert
Buying a new EPA-certified woodstove.

Don't Burn Trash

Burning typically releases particles and chemicals, including carbon monoxide, into the air. When trash is burned, including plastics, coated papers, and chemical products, additional cancer-causing pollutants and higher levels of particulate matter are released in the smoke. When furniture is burned (couches, chairs, mattresses), highly toxic substances can be released into the air, including hydrogen cyanide, acrolein, and ammonia.

For More Information...

For additional information on fires and air pollution, see some of the links below.

Top Five Tips for Cleaner Fireplace Burning (on this website)
Download California Air Resources Board "Wood Burning Handbook" (PDF file) here: http://www.arb.ca.gov/cap/handbooks/wood_burning_handbook.pdf.
For more information on smoke impacts, see www.airquality.org/smokeimpact, a web page developed for the public by the California Air Pollution Control Officer's Association. The page lists the health impacts of smoke and protective measures, and includes links for additional information.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website on clean-burning woodstoves and fireplaces: http://www.epa.gov/woodstoves/index.html
For information on air pollutants see this page (on our website).