In Illinois, buoyed by recent success of the public smoking ban, clean-air activists have set their sights on new targets:

Banning all wood burning, fire-pits, fire-places, wood burning stoves, grills, etc. It seems, if it smokes, it is part of their proposed ban. This includes smoking cigarettes in your own home.

Sorry if this is too political, but it does impact many people's plan A and B for heating their homes. I doubt this proposal will gain popular support immediately, but that is what I thought about the smoking ban too.

I have heard of wood burning bans due to smoke.

In my area outside wood-burning furnaces (the big ones that heat your house/water) are not permitted in subdivisions due to the amount of low-level smoke (as in not above the building heights) that they produce, you still see them in rural areas.

You also need a permit to have a fire-pit in your yard. This is to ensure that it is safe but also to allow your neughbours a chance to comment to the municipality. No problem in my neighbourhood, summer campfires are common and are a lot of fun for the kids and nice social time for the adults.

Mike

Hi Izzy,

My area is similar to yours; in a dry year a Restricted Fire Zone will be announced and all burning will be banned until conditions improve. This is only for a limited time/area and is because of fire hazard, not smoke restrictions in residential neighbourhoods.

Mike

Smoke from burning wood can contribute a significant percentage of the total air pollution. The San Francisco Bay Area is considering a ban on wood burning on Spare the Air days during the winter, not all days. Similar to the existing ban on using charcoal BBQ's, lawn mowers, etc. on those bad air days during the summer months. Unfortunately, on those cold, foggy nights, the air pollution stays close to the ground and just accumulates.

I read a stat that a study in San Jose, California (a major metro area, not particularly a hotbed of wood burning activity, I would think) found that 40% of the particulate load in the winter there was attributable to wood burning. And as particulate load goes up, then health problems like asthma and heart disease-related problems are more common, so you see things like more ER visits for asthma. Plus there are assorted carcinogens emitted in wood smoke which are not found in vehicle emissions.

Very interesting fellows,

On cold, still winter mornings the woodsmoke over towns here hangs like a fog at about rooftop height.

Mike

Most of the bans mentioned above are in warm, dry areas. I can't imagine a ban would be inforced in Chicago during a power outage.

When I used to live out west they often had "red" burn days (wood burning restricted) during the winter, particularly when the inversion would set in. The valley would often be full of haze for days at a time when the weather conditions were right (or wrong?).

If common sense could be legislated we may not need as many "rules". Unfortunately I don't see that happening any time soon.

Wow, I've heard of outside burning (fire-pits, trash, etc.) being banned during dry times but, I just can't imagine the ramification of banning burning in fireplaces or wood-burning stoves especially in the winter time in the midwest. When I was growing up we heated our house with a wood burning furnace and would of been in big trouble without being able to use that.

I wouldn't be surprised if such a ban excluded homes where burning wood was the sole means of heat. Many polution regulations follow that pattern...just like cars.

Day by day, bit by bit the Government is creeping into out lives to control everything we do. PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. at work taking away freedom.