Burning Ban Has Some Burning Mad

For years residents of California´s agricultural heartland have blamed their smog on automobiles in the San Francisco Bay area.

Now air regulators have a solution that hits closer to home. But their proposal to ban traditional wood-burning fireplaces has angered many in the Central Valley.

Residents say regulators shouldn´t be able to tell them what to do in the homes.

But the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District says it has few alternatives. Under the proposal most wood-burning fireplaces and stoves would be banned in new homes. Masonry fireplaces would have to be permanently disabled, or upgraded before a home could be sold.

Also many residents would not be allowed to use existing fireplaces or stoves on bad air days to comply with the Clean