The Spare the air day idea is fairly simple. If you burn wood based
products, you produce smoke. With many areas this smoke gets trapped
under the cloud layer and creates smoky conditions with high levels of
particulates.The San Joaquin Valley is notorious for heavy low clouds
and when people in the bay area burn, the prevailing winds blow it
there where it gets trapped in the valley. This in part is what lead to
the burn ban.
While the EPA had their phase 1 and 2 particulate reductions did
help quite a bit, I suspect in part due to the high numbers of existing
open fireplaces and non phase 2 wood burning appliances, the measure is
in place.Now in the bay area and surrounding communities, the fireplace
police will be out sniffing for people burning when they shouldn't be.
The fines can be hefty, so listen up. The burn ban happens from
November 1 through to February 28th.
Over the years many have gone with gas stoves or pellet stoves which
burn much more efficiently. The new wood and pellet sotves, when
burning hot are virtually smoke free. Santa Cruz Hearth and Home
is a place where you can check out the latest and nicest fire places
and gas burning appliances. Gas fireplaces are unaffected by this ban
as they are clean burning and beautiful.
While we are lucky in that we have the ocean breezes in Santa Cruz
to blow the bad air away, not all are so fortunate with their
geography. Some of the Santa Cruz real estate
I have seen have fireplace inserts, which burn more cleanly than a
conventional fire place. Most all the new homes have gas fireplaces,
which are very clean, need virtually no cleaning, and are pretty much
smoke free. You get instant heat instead of waiting half and hour or so
for warmth. When the wood stove or fireplace is done, you have a nice
bit of ash to clean up. Good for the garden, but bad for the air, and
you don't have nearly the fire hazard with a gas appliance. Consider
the maintenance and work involved and you may decide gas it the way to
go.
When you look at Santa Cruz real estate, one of the things you will
want to check out is the fireplace, if they have one, for safety and
warmth. These old masonry or even "zero clearance" fireplaces put out
much more smoke and particulate matter than a new wood stoves or
insert. Burning you fires hot instead of damped down is the cleanest
burn.
Stop by the store at 844-17th avenue in Santa Cruz and see what your
choices are. Going smokeless and sparing the air is a pretty thing to
do. To check out the air quality in the Bay Area
follow the link. Here in Santa Cruz or Rio Del Mar, the air is almost
always fresh, but you can check out the air in the Monterey Bay and see
what other environmental concerns might be of interest. The Santa Cruz air quality and wood stove rebates and other burn program information can be accessed.
Burn hot, burn clean, clean you fireplace and chimneys for safety
and the sake of all of us. If you are looking for a Santa Cruz home
with a fireplace, let me know and I can help you find it. A hearth in
the home is a heart warming experience.