OLYMPIA, Wash. — Clean-air agencies
around the state issued burn bans Sunday as air quality
dropped, thanks to a high-pressure weather system that
kept pollutants from dissipating.
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency ordered
a ban on outdoor and indoor burning in King, Snohomish,
Pierce and Kitsap counties, except in homes where wood
fires are the only source of heat.
The Washington State Department of
Health urged that people who are sensitive to air
pollution -- children, the elderly, and people with
heart and lung problems -- limit time spent outdoors.
The state Department of Ecology issued
a voluntary burn ban for residents of the Methow Valley,
other valleys on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, and
the rest of the north-central and northeastern parts of
the state.
The bans were precipitated by a
"temperature inversion," a weather phenomenon which
traps cold air near the ground and keeps smoke from
dissipating, especially in valleys. The inversion is
expected to ease by mid-week.
The Ecology Department said people who
have woodstoves as their only source of heat should burn
very dry wood to reduce the amount of smoke.
The agencies also urged people to
drive as little as possible, to reduce the amount of
exhaust released into the air.
