Air Quality

Are you concerned about smoke from woodstoves or open-burning in your neighborhood? Contact the Clean Air Ambassador at 250-561-7600.

Is there an air quality advisory in effect? No

More information is available on the media release

Reminder! Wood Burning Appliances are not permitted to burn during an Air Quality Advisory unless it is your sole source of heat.

Air Quality Health Index

Prince George is taking part in the world's first air quality health index initiative, a pilot study that provides forecasts on air quality similar to the UV index.

To get Prince George page on AirPlay Today

Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable(PGAIR)

The Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable (formerly the Air Quality Implementation Committee) includes representatives from government, industry, First Nations, community groups, the general public, Northern Health and the University of Northern BC. The City of Prince George plays an active role in this committee which coordinates air quality research, monitoring and education in our community. For more information on this committee, please visit http://www.pgairquality.com.

The Clean Air Bylaw

The Clean Air Bylaw (#7721) regulates the use of woodburning appliances, open burning and fugitive dust control within the City of Prince George. Please refer to the bylaw for specific wording and definitions: http://www.city.pg.bc.ca/cityhall/bylaws/
Woodburning Appliances

No person shall use a woodburning appliance at any time during an air quality advisory unless it is their sole source of heat.
No person shall operate a woodburning appliance in such a manner to significantly contribute to the cause of injury or damage to human health, plant or animal life or so as to unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of life or property
No person shall install a woodburning appliance in or about any premise unless it meets the particulate emission requirements of the Canadian standard and the US standard. A building permit is required before installation.
No person shall cause or allow any substance to be burned in any woodburning appliance other than wood fuel. Garbage or other noxious material is not allowed.

For information on building permit requirements for a woodstove installation, please refer to this information circular link #10 or contact our Current Planning Division at 561-7611.
Open Burning
The City of Prince George in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Forests have provided the following information that is pertinent to open burning and will assist you in the planning process. They are all in PDF format.

Other important information related to open burning and recreational fires contained within the Clean Air Bylaw includes:

No person shall conduct open burning within the Open Burning Ban Boundaries (Schedule A, Clean Air Bylaw Open Burning Ban Boundaries (see page 7)); this does not include recreational fires.
No person shall conduct open burning or a recreational fire if an air quality advisory has been issued. If the fire was started prior to the issuance of the air quality advisory, that person shall take all reasonable steps to extinguish the fire as soon as possible.
No person shall burn garbage or noxious materials.

Fugitive Dust Control

No person shall sweep or maintain any highway or off street parking, loading or storage areas except with the use of equipment using fugitive dust control procedures or dust suppressing liquids (prior to and during sweeping in amounts sufficient to minimize the generation of dust)
No person shall undertake any sweeping or maintenance of highway or off street parking, loading or storage areas at any time when an air quality advisory is in effect unless approved by an Authorized Person on the basis that dust suppression measures satisfactory to the Authorized Person will be taken to control fugitive dust.
All off street parking, loading and storage areas, demolition sites, construction sites and highways must be maintained so the dust does not escape in such a manner as to cause injury or interfere with the enjoyment of life or property.

Wood Stove Education

Smoke from neighbourhood woodstoves and fireplaces is a common source of both odour and reduced visibility. These, plus the health-related problems caused by inhaling smoke pollutants, add up to significant costs for individuals and the community. So be a good neighbour and limit your burning, and if you do burn, burn correctly.

What is Wood Smoke?

Wood smoke is a complex mixture of substances produced during the burning of wood. The major emissions from wood stoves and fireplaces are carbon monoxide, organic gases, particulate matter, formaldehyde, and nitrogen oxides. Wood smoke contains many compounds known to cause cancer, and other toxic compounds.
Graphic showing difference between new and old stoves

Why is Wood Smoke a Problem?

The particles of wood smoke are too small to be filtered by the nose and respiratory system, so they wind up deep in the lungs. They can remain there for months causing structural damage and chemical changes. Poisonous and cancer-causing chemicals often enter the lungs by adhering to tiny particulate matter.
These tiny particles are emitted in neighbourhoods, both indoors and out. Unfortunately, wood smoke is not only in the outdoor air we breathe. The particulate matter in wood smoke leaving chimneys is so small that it is not stopped by closed doors and windows, and often seeps into neighbours' houses. Even more smoke is sometimes released inside homes which use wood heat.
Wood smoke exposure causes a decrease in lung function and aggravates heart conditions and carbon monoxide causes heart pain. The occurrence of respiratory illness in children has been shown to increase with greater exposure to wood smoke. Wood smoke aggravates asthma, emphysema, pneumonia, and bronchitis.

Follow these tips for clean burning...

Only burn dry, seasoned wood. Be sure your firewood is split and dried for at least several months.
Never burn wet, painted, stained or treated wood, colour newsprint, plastic, garbage, diapers, or magazines. Items such as these produce high amounts of odour, smoke, and toxic fumes.
Store your firewood under cover. A shed or shelter is best. If you use a plastic tarp, allow ventilation to prevent condensation.
Burn small, hot fires. This helps the wood burn completely and cleanly.
Never allow the fire to smolder. Smoldering fire are the worst polluters because they burn at too low a temperature for efficient combustion.
Do not damper too much. Allow enough air for the wood to burn fully, without smoldering. Never try to keep the fire going overnight by cutting back the air supply.
Step outside and look at the plume from your chimney. You should only see heat waves. If you see smoke, your wood is not burning completely. Increase the air supply to your fire.

Proper stove installation is very important. A building permit is necessary for any installation. Even the least polluting certified stoves will not function well if the installation does not meet the specifications for each model.

The Right Kind of Woodstove

Most fireplaces rob your house of heat because they draw in lots of air you've paid for and suck it up the chimney.
Don't install an uncertified stove. These stoves do not burn as efficiently as US Environmental Protection Agency or Canadian Standards Association certified stoves (CSA 415.1). New stoves can cut the amount of particulate matter by as much as 90 percent and carbon monoxide by 60 percent.
New wood stoves use up to one third less wood for the same amount of heat.

Choose your woodstove with care to get the best heat for your home, the least environmental impact, and with proper care, years of winter comfort.

More information is available on our Wood Stove Education Pamphlet [PDF].

Graphic showing loss of warm air up chimney

DO NOT BURN WHEN AN AIR QUALITY ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED.
There are several ways in which you can find out more about Air Quality, the Clean Air Bylaw, and Air Quality Advisories:

The City of Prince George Environmental Coordinator at 561-7793
The Ministry of Environment’s Air Quality Complaint Line and Air Quality Index Phone line at 565-6457