If you’re planning on welcoming the new year cuddled up by a warm fire, you’re in luck — there are currently no burning restrictions in Washington. But sometimes in winter, the warmth of a roaring fire can contribute to air pollution that lingers and builds.

When the air outside is smoky or hazy this time of year, it’s likely from wood stoves and fireplaces. Those two sources are responsible for more than half of Washington’s fine particle pollution during the winter.

Particle pollution includes smoke, soot, dirt, and dust in the air. These particles pose a particular risk to human health because they are so small – less than 2.5 micrograms. That's 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. These small particles, known as PM_2.5, can cause big problems:  They can lodge deep in your lungs or even get into your bloodstream. In general, higher levels of fine particles in the air are more likely to result in disease and death.

When PM_2.5 is forecast to be over 35 micrograms per cubic meter within the next 48 hours, a burn ban is called. In some parts of the state, we issue these burn bans. In other places, they are called by a local clean air agency, such as Puget Sound Clean Air or Spokane Regional Clean Air.

No matter who issues the burn ban, the restrictions come in two forms:

  Stage 1 burn ban (yellow):

  Stage 2 burn ban (red):

• Check for a burn ban. Check if there’s a burn ban before lighting a fire. Depending on where you live, check with:

Washington Clean Air Agencies

• Protect your family and your neighbors – during a burn ban, abide by the rules. If there’s a burn ban, don’t light a fire in an uncertified wood stove (for a Stage 1 burn ban), unless a wood stove is your only source of heat.
• Burn only dry, seasoned wood. Make sure your wood is dry and seasoned for at least six months. Dry wood burns hot and clean – generating less smoke. 
• Limit your smoke. A properly burning fire will emit very little smoke. Don’t overfill your stove. Keep the damper open. Smoke coming from your chimney should be no more than 20% opacity (how much you can see through the smoke).

• Report illegal burning if you see it. Even when there is not a burn ban in place, wood smoke should not impact neighbors.

It’s an unfortunate fact that weather conditions are often conducive to smoke and pollution building up near the Earth’s surface at the exact time of year that we really want to build a fire. That’s because winter is the season when we most often see temperature inversions, where warm air higher in the atmosphere acts like a lid, trapping pollution and cold air closer to the ground.

A burn ban limits the amount of smoke that gets added to the air during an inversion, protecting air quality until a shift in the weather allows the pollution to dissipate.

These winter burn bans are totally different than the burning restrictions we see in summer, which are typically called by the Washington Department of Natural Resources or local fire districts. Those summer burn bans are meant to reduce wildfire risk. (There are rare occasions when burn bans can be called for both fire risk and air quality – such as during the 2020 Labor Day smoke storm).

No matter the season or the reason, a burn ban could be in place because of smoke from wood stoves, fireplaces, or wildfires. Check before lighting a fire in your stove or fireplace!

This winter, stay warm and burn wisely!