The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a residential no-burn alert for today and Wednesday for the non-desert portions of Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties and all of Orange County.
That means residents in those areas are prohibited from burning wood in their fireplaces, either indoors or outdoors, until at least 12 a.m. Thursday, according to a statement.
The ban applies to manufactured logs made of wax or paper.
The district issues no burn alerts to protect public health whenever a high concentration of fine-particle air pollution is forecast for the area.
Fine particles of wood smoke can get deep into a person’s lungs and cause respiratory problems.