PHOENIX — For those who enjoy the crackle of a warm fire on a cold day, Maricopa County says not so fast.
New Year’s Eve and possibly New Year’s Day have been designated as no-burn days.
A combination of still air and the expectations of fireworks around Phoenix on New Year’s Eve have put the kibosh on wood-burning fires on Tuesday. The county also projects Wednesday to be a no-burn day as well.
“What we do is we ask residents, on no-burn days, not to burn wood for several reasons. The obvious reason is the health of our neighbors,” said Bob Huhn, communications director of the Maricopa County Air Quality Department.
“We want people to be outside, to exercise, to go about their daily life without medical challenges,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
For those hoping to enjoy the hypnotic dance of the flame on these cold nights, the county has one alternative:
“Gas, by far. That’s a cleaner – and that’s why we have our ‘Burn Cleaner, Burn Better’ campaign,” said Huhn. “We ask people not to burn wood whenever possible.”
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To help reduce the number of wood-burning fireplaces, the county has a program to help certain residents with vouchers to convert wood-burning fireplaces to gas-burning.
The program is called Maricopa County Fireplace Retrofitting Program. For Phoenix residents living between 59th Avenue and 16th street and between Northern Avenue and Baseline Road, the county will offer vouchers up to $2,500 to have their fireplaces retrofitted.
There are a number of conditions to this program. For example, the recipient would need their home already fitted with gas service. Where the recipient lives also affects the amount of money the county will voucher.
“Don’t forget, we are in a Valley and there are a lot of older homes that have wood-burning fireplaces,” Huhn said.
The county’s website CleanAirMakeMore has the details of the program and other programs available to county residents.