All Burning Prohibited.
Updated 1/6/2011: The Clark County Burn Ban will be lifted as of 2:00 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011. Feel free to fire it up Friday night, just don’t smoke out your neighbor. Visit Southwest Clean Air Agency for more information.
Updated 1/5/2011: The rain may have started, but the burn ban hasn’t stopped. “Contrary to what normally occurs, the light rain in Clark County is not improving our air quality and, thus, we cannot justify lifting the burn ban without a marked and sustained improvement in air quality,” said Bob Elliott, executive director at the Southwest Clean Air Agency.”
The Southwest Clean Air Agency has issued a Stage 2 Burn Ban for Clark County, upgraded from the Stage 1 Burn Ban last week.
What that means is “The use of all fireplaces, pellet stoves, wood stoves and inserts is prohibited until air quality improves and the Stage 2 Burn Ban is lifted.” If wood burning is your only source of heat, then you are exempt from this restriction. ” According to Bob Elliott, executive director for the SWCAA, “We are not asking anyone to go without heat, but to use an alternative source of heat if possible until weather patterns change and our air quality returns to healthy levels.’
The air in Clark County currently exceeds the federal health-based standard for “fine particulate matter pollution.” The purpose of a burn ban is to reduce the amount of pollution that is creating unhealthy air. It is especially harmful to people with heart and lung problems, children, and adults over 65, and can trigger asthma attacks.
For more on the current Burn Ban, and information about the SWCAA, visit Southwest Clean Air Agency online.
