The South Coast Air Quality Management District has extended a No-Burn Alert forbidding people in four Southern California counties from burning wood in fireplaces or any indoor or outdoor devices through Sunday.
“The No-Burn rule bans burning wood, pellets as well as manufactured fire logs in any indoor or outdoor wood burning device, and bans burning charcoal except in cooking devices,” the alert said. No Burn day alerts are mandatory in order to protect public health when levels of fine particulate air pollution in the region are forecast to be high.
“Particles in wood smoke — also known as fine particulate matter or PM2.5 — can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems (including asthma attacks), increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations.”
The alert covers the South Coast Air Basin, including large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties except the High Desert and Coachella Valley.
Smoke from wood burning can cause health problems, the AQMD said. Fine particulate matter called PM2.5 can get deep into the lungs to cause asthma attacks and other respiratory problems, increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
This is the fourth No-Burn Day the South Coast AQMD has issued in the 2025-2026 season from September through the end of April for ozone, and from November through the end of February for fine particle pollution when air quality is forecast to be poor.
Homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service are exempt from the requirement. Gas and other non-wood burning fireplaces are not restricted, according to the AQMD.
More information can be found here.