Marin County is covered by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Spare the Air program, which makes it illegal to burn wood or any other solid fuel in a fireplace, stove, or fire pit whenever a Spare the Air Alert is in effect for fine particulate pollution. A first ticket is $100 and can be waived by taking an online wood smoke class; a second is $500, and the fines keep climbing from there. Alerts are most common from November through February, but since 2019 the district can also call one during wildfire smoke events at any time of year.
What the Burn Ban Covers
When a particulate Spare the Air Alert is active, burning wood or any other solid fuel is illegal across the Bay Area, indoors and outdoors alike. That includes fireplaces, wood stoves, pellet stoves, manufactured fire logs, outdoor fire pits, chimineas, backyard bonfires, and campfires.1Spare the Air. Wood Burning Rule
Gas fireplaces, gas inserts, and propane or natural gas grills are not affected. The rule targets combustion of solid fuels, so a gas appliance can be used freely on an alert day.
How to Check Whether an Alert Is Active
Alerts can be issued up to three days ahead of the forecast poor air quality,2Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Spare the Air Alert Issued for Thursday Due to Elevated Pollution Levels so checking before you light a fire is the only reliable way to stay on the right side of the rule.
- Text START to 817-57 for automatic notifications when a burn ban is declared.3Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Spare the Air Text Alerts
- Call 1-877-4NO-BURN (1-877-466-2876) for a recorded status message. The same line takes complaints.1Spare the Air. Wood Burning Rule
- Check the Spare the Air website or the BAAQMD website for current status and forecasts.
- Sign up for email notifications or automated phone-call alerts through the Spare the Air site.
When Alerts Happen
The traditional Spare the Air season runs November through February, when cold, stagnant weather traps wood smoke close to the ground.4Spare the Air. Alerts and Advisories Since 2019, the district has also had authority to call an alert at any time of year when fine particle levels are forecast to be unhealthy, including during wildfire smoke events.1Spare the Air. Wood Burning Rule The burn ban applies the same way regardless of season.
Between April and October the district also issues ozone alerts tied to smog, not wood smoke. Those ask residents to drive less and skip gas-powered equipment, but they do not ban wood burning.5Spare the Air. What Is Spare the Air Only particulate alerts activate the legal ban.
Exemptions
Exemptions are narrow. If your home has a gas furnace, wall heater, baseboard heater, or any other permanently installed gas, propane, or electric heating system, none of them apply to you.
Sole Source of Heat
A household qualifies only if the home has no permanently installed gas, propane, or electric heating and the wood-burning device is EPA-certified and registered with the Air District in advance. Pellet-fueled stoves exempt from EPA certification under federal rules can also be registered to qualify.6Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Regulation 6 Rule 3 Wood-Burning Devices You cannot register after the fact to excuse a violation. Rental properties in areas with natural gas service do not qualify, even if the specific unit has no gas hookup.
Power Outage
If your home loses gas or electric service and you have no other way to heat it, you are temporarily exempt for the duration of the outage.6Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Regulation 6 Rule 3 Wood-Burning Devices It lasts only while the outage lasts, and only when no alternate heat source is available.
Fines and Enforcement
Enforcement runs on complaints. Neighbors who see or smell wood smoke during a ban can call 1-877-4NO-BURN, and the district also runs extra patrols on alert days.7Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Air Quality Complaint Policy and Procedures A citation requires an inspector to personally observe the smoke and trace it to the source, so an anonymous tip alone will not produce a ticket, though it will produce an investigation.
The penalty structure escalates quickly:
- First violation: $100, waivable by completing an online wood smoke awareness course.8Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Wood Burning Rule Flyer
- Second violation: $500, no class option.
- Each additional violation: a higher fine than the one before.
The class option is a real off-ramp, but it works exactly once.
Grants to Replace a Wood-Burning Device
If you would rather stop tracking alerts entirely, the BAAQMD’s Clean HEET Program pays Bay Area homeowners to swap wood-burning devices for electric heat pumps. Funding is first-come, first-served.9Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Clean HEET Program
Base grants include up to $6,500 for replacing a wood stove or fireplace insert from 2014 or earlier with a heat pump, up to $6,000 for an open-hearth fireplace, up to $3,000 for a pellet stove or a newer (2015–2019) wood device, and $1,000 for decommissioning an old device without installing a heat pump. Low-income households receive an additional $4,000, and the maximum individual award is $10,500 when combining a base grant, a second-device supplement, and the low-income plus-up.10Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Air District’s Clean HEET Program Now Accepting Applications
The 2026 application deadline is 5:00 PM PDT on July 14, 2026. The program does not reimburse work already done, so apply before hiring a contractor. Once the allocation runs out, later applicants go on a waitlist.