Cooler weather has settled into Southern Nevada. Folks will be lighting bonfires, campfires and their wood-burning stoves. It’s great for warmth, ambience and socializing. Wood smoke contributes to particulate pollution and can have an impact on air quality. We don’t want to stop you from having a good time or heating your home, but we do want you to burn wisely and safely.

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Put Out the Fire! Did you know Clark County has exceeded the EPA’s air quality standards for PM2.5 (fine particulates) the past two Christmas Days? Another exceedance could put us in jeopardy of falling into nonattainment for air quality standards. Nonattainment could mean mandatory changes to improve air quality that could impact all of us. ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN AN ELECTRIC FIREPLACE! Take the pledge to Put Out the Fire on Dec. 25 this year and you could take home an electric fireplace! Your pledge is your entry in the drawing, from our friends at the American Lung Association Nevada. Take the pledge today!

Burn Wise, Clark County!
If you’re burning wood at home, indoors or outdoors, here are a few simple tips from our friends at the EPA and their Burn Wise program to help you to burn efficiently and with fewer emissions. It’s good for your health and the air we share.

Safe, Wood-burning Practices
When using your wood burning appliance, follow these guidelines for safe operation:

• Keep flammable items, like curtains, furniture, newspapers, and books, away from your appliance.
• Only use newspaper, dry kindling and all-natural or organic fire starters. Never start a fire with gasoline, kerosene, or charcoal starter.
• Do not burn wet or green (unseasoned) wood.
• Many wax and sawdust logs are made for open hearth fireplaces only. Check your wood stove or fireplace insert operating instructions before using artificial logs. 
• If you use manufactured logs, choose those made from 100 percent compressed sawdust.
• Build hot fires. For most appliances, a smoldering fire is not safe or efficient.
• Keep the doors of your wood-burning appliance closed unless loading or stoking the live fire. Harmful chemicals, like carbon monoxide, can be released into your home.
• Regularly remove ashes into a covered, metal container. Store the container outdoors on a nonflammable surface.
• Keep a fire extinguisher handy.
• Check the local air quality forecast at DESAQMonitoring.ClarkCountyNV.gov.

What NOT to Burn
Did you know certain materials can release toxic or harmful chemicals when burned and may damage your appliance? Nobody wants that! Here’s a list of items you SHOULD NOT BURN in your wood-burning stove, fireplace or outdoors. Your neighbors will thank you.

• Household trash, including cardboard, plastics, foam and the colored ink on magazines, boxes and wrappers.
• Coated, painted and pressure-treated wood.
• Ocean driftwood, plywood, particle board, or any wood with glue on or in it.
• Wet, rotted, diseased or moldy wood.
• Plastic, asbestos, rubber, manure and animal remains.

Additional Resources
Go to EPA.gov/Burnwise for more.