There were fewer complaints, citations, alerts and emission violations related to Spare The Air days this past winter than the year before.
The Bay Air Area Quality Management District issued 10 Spare The Air alerts between Dec. 1 and Feb. 28. That was down from the 15 alerts during the winter of 2012-2013.
The region also violated federal health standards for air pollution on only one occasion this winter, compared to 10 violations the year before.
Kristine Roselius, a spokeswoman for the BAAQMD, said the weather was one reason for the decrease. The December storms reduced the alerts to zero in that month. In fact, nine of the 10 alerts occurred in January. One happened in February.
She said the cluster of alerts also led to more coverage and better awareness. She added the public is now more aware of winter air pollution and complied more often.
She added the district is also receiving better data, so it is able to declare a Spare The Air day before pollution levels violate federal standards.
The district reported they received 371 complaints of wood burning on Spare The Air days in Contra Costa County. That's compared to 622 the year before.
There were 21 violations recorded, compared to 61 the year before. Of those, eight citations were issued. All eight violators were first-time offenders and took the district's online air pollution class and avoided paying a fine.
Roselius said there were no repeat offenders and therefore no fines issued.
