New Air Quality Rules to Take Effect in January

Residents who want to light up their old fireplaces will have to check with regional air quality officials first under new rules that go into effect next year.

The voluntary “Don’t Light Tonight” no-burn nights on bad air days will become mandatory next year to cut down on dust and soot, air quality officials said.

The San Joaquin Valley is one of the dirtiest air basins in the country.

And air district spokeswoman, Josette Merced Bello, said old wood-burning fireplaces and stoves with no emissions controls could be shut down for as many as 20 days during the season. Homes that need the fireplaces or stoves for heat are exempt from the new rules, officials said.

Also next year, residents who want to sell a home with an old masonry fireplace will need to convert it to natural gas, buy a government-certified insert that cuts airborne soot or brick it up, officials said.

An estimated 500,000 homes in the valley have old wood-burning stoves and fireplaces.