With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
What's behind the record-breaking stretch of 'no burn' days?
Thursday is the 11th day in a row that you cannot burn wood in your fireplace, backyard fire pit or anywhere else in urban Southern California. It's called a "no burn" day, and this winter the region has already hit a record number of them.
Since the “no burn” program started in 2012, the South Coast Air Quality Management District has never issued more than eight alerts in a row. The agency sends out an alert when it predicts particulate matter levels will be above federal standards.
Although it doesn’t seem lighting a fire in your fireplace will make a big difference to regional air quality, it can. The AQMD estimates a million households around the South Coast use their fireplace every day, sending more pollution into the air than all the power plants in the area combined. The particulate matter in wood smoke can lodge deep inside the lungs or pass into the blood stream, causing inflammation and exacerbating underlying conditions like asthma, heart disease and other chronic diseases.
The Purple Air network of air sensors displays particular matter concentrations in real-time. Orange is unhealthy for sensitive groups and red is unhealthy for everyone.
The reason this winter been so bad has to do with the weather. A big high pressure system has been sitting on top of Southern California, keeping storms out and locking warm, dry air in place. That air acts like a lid over the L.A. basin, trapping pollution against the Santa Monica, San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains. Wind blowing off the ocean further pushes the pollution up against the mountains.
“The idea with air pollution is you want to disperse it, you want to mix it with clean air,” said Ryan Kittell, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. “In Southern California, we’re boxed in and we can’t get clean air to mix with our polluted air.”

A low pressure system would release the “lid” on the box, allowing pollution to escape. That could also bring rain, which cleans the soot, smoke and other particles out of the air as it falls to the ground.
“A lot of the time after it rains, the visibility is really, really good,” Kittell said.
But without storms, air pollution can build up over days and weeks. And this winter has been historically dry. According to Kittell, it is the fourth driest start to the winter since the National Weather Service began keeping track in 1877. The region has had no significant precipitation since February 17, 2016, when it rained just over two inches.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story left out some specifics about the areas affected by the order.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

-
The Palisades Fire erupted on Jan. 7 and went on to kill 12 people and destroy more than 6,800 homes and buildings.
-
People moving to Los Angeles are regularly baffled by the region’s refrigerator-less apartments. They’ll soon be a thing of the past.
-
Experts say students shouldn't readily forgo federal aid. But a California-only program may be a good alternative in some cases.
-
Distrito Catorce’s Guillermo Piñon says the team no longer reflects his community. A new mural will honor local leaders instead.
-
The program is for customers in communities that may not be able to afford turf removal or water-saving upgrades.
-
More than half of sales through September have been to corporate developers. Grassroots community efforts continue to work to combat the trend.