A pedestrian walks under the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge on a cold, foggy Monday morning in Vancouver. Those conditions are expected to return Tuesday, and stagnant air patterns prompted officials to issue a Stage Two burn ban in all of Clark County starting Monday. The announcement followed a less stringent Stage One burn ban announced last week.
The Stage Two ban means the use of all fireplaces, inserts, wood stoves and pellet stoves is prohibited. Outdoor burning is also prohibited. Homes that use wood burning as their sole source of heat, however, are exempt from the ban.
Recent weather conditions have caused fine-particle air pollution to rise to potentially unhealthy levels, according to the Southwest Washington Clean Air Agency, particularly for people with heart and lung problems, children and older citizens. The burn ban is intended to prevent additional pollutants to accumulate in the stubbornly stagnant air.
The Stage Two burn ban will continue until conditions improve. An air stagnation advisory issued Monday by the National Weather Service remains in effect until Friday. Forecasters expect areas of freezing fog in Vancouver on Tuesday, and overnight low temperatures will hover in the low 30s through the rest of this week.
For more weather information, see Page B8.
