Overview
- South Coast AQMD kept a mandatory No-Burn day in place through Saturday for most of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, excluding the High Desert, Coachella Valley and areas above 3,000 feet.
- The prohibition covers burning wood, pellets and manufactured fire logs indoors and outdoors, with charcoal permitted only in cooking devices.
- The National Weather Service reported county-level air-quality alerts now running through midnight Monday, Dec. 22, including Los Angeles and updated alerts for Riverside, Orange and nearby areas.
- Exemptions allow burning for homes that rely on wood as the sole heat source, residences without natural gas service and households experiencing temporary electrical or gas outages.
- Health guidance urges staying indoors when possible, using air conditioning or HEPA purifiers, avoiding swamp coolers or whole-house fans, and noting that forecast-based restrictions may differ from real-time air-quality maps as this season records 16 no-burn days.