Use caution before you fire up that fireplace this winter season -- the air must be spared, and you can be fined for burning the log on the wrong day.
The winter time "Spare the Air" season begins on Tuesday, according to the Marin Independent Journal, and that means it's verboten to burn any kind of fuel or any sort of material outside or in a fireplace until Feb. 29 when the Bay Area Air Quality Management District calls a Spare the Air Day.
Residents are encouraged to watch their neighbors' chimneys for signs of smoke. Marin County has led the area in smoke-related complaints since the program began, according to the newspaper.
Anyone violating a spare the air day can be subjected to a $400 ticket, the newspaper reported.
However, homes that rely on wood-burning stoves to keep warm during the winter can burn away.
The Bay Area received roughly 1,400 complaints last year, 301 of which were in Marin last year, according to the newspaper.
