Posted on 11/12/2003 3:46:36 PM PST by chance33_98
Air District Clarifies New Fireplace Rules
Rule Violators Could Be Fined
POSTED: 11:35 PM PST November 10, 2003 UPDATED: 11:19 AM PST November 11, 2003
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- New fireplace regulations that went into effect Nov. 1 mean before people light a log in their fireplace, residents will need to know if it's been declared a "no burn night."
Dale Karnes uses his wood burning fireplace solely to heat the room where he and his wife spend most of their time.
"We need the heat. It's not because our age or anything, this room is like a tomb in the wintertime. It's cold," Karnes said.
However, if they use their fireplace for heat on a "no burn night," they could face a fine because it's not their sole heating source.
"It is hooked onto the main heat, but it's so far away. I mean it's probably a good 40 feet from that exchange to the unit," Karnes said.
The No. 1 question being asked about the "no burn nights" is who is exempt from the no burn rules.
One point the San Joaquin Valley Air District wants people to know is that pellets and manufactured fire logs are not exempt from the rules.
"If wood burning is your soul source of heat and you don't have another heating device built into the home then you are exempt. We are going to allow questions about that because people aren't sure if they qualify or not," said Kelly Malay of the San Joaquin Valley Air District.
Malay said there is no "permit" application -- residents will either be exempt, or not.
"The best answer is call us and we'll talk about it and find out because there are some gray areas that we need to know all the details about," Malay said.
The Air District will enforce the no burn nights with both random patrols and through complaints that are called in.
"If you are caught violating the rule the fine can be between $50 and $1,000. The $1,000 case would obviously be someone who has violated the rule repeatedly," Malay said.
The "no burn nights" do not apply to residents with natural gas or propane fireplaces.
Call (800) SMOG-INFO for the daily no burn status and if you have any questions about the no burn rules, call the Air District at 326-6900.
But in an increasingly overcrowded America, you must learn to share your space with those having different ideas.
You have that in California, but you have to be very rich to fully enjoy it. (Buy on Stinson beach, beyond the gate for owners only..) We left CA after it became clear that we could not go to the coast from inland without spending several hours each way on the road. You are correct about too many people, correct that immigration contributes, but not correct that stopping immigration would in any wany open the roads to the coast. There are too many people like yourself who want this very limited resource.
Florida too, is rife with development on the coast, while inland land is plentiful, and yes they have enough orange groves too. However, to get to the beach via car, you have to spend hours driving and looking for a place to park (Sarasota).
I like the idea of a stable population, that will take reform of all our tax and financial institutions. (Everything today is based on growth.) I prefer a capitalistic approach to distribution of the resources. A way will be found. Regards, KC
Too crowded at any price--too many other owners.
And then there's the surrounding area and the state--which because it is so populated will impose restrictions on freedom, which those Stinson beach owners will also suffer from.
not correct that stopping immigration would in any wany open the roads to the coast. There are too many people like yourself who want this very limited resource.
That's why we should stop immigration: adding more people doesn't improve things.
I have an idea.
Best solution: stop population growth from immigration.
Fewer people = fewer homes = fewer fireplaces = less polution.
See? Simple. No need for pollution laws, polution police, polution taxes, Bureaus of Fireplace Inspection, Fireplace Police and Inspector Civil Service Exam Bureaus, etc.
But, if they continue the idiocy of flooding the country with immigrants, then leave existing homeowners alone.
Simply outlaw fireplaces in new construction.
It is worse when my neighbor across the street burn his fire when it is in the 60's and we have our windows open!
Beautiful when it is going straight up but ugly when it sweeps down into your house from the neighbor next door.
What really costs workers their motivation is to take the results of their hard work in the form of taxes.
The immigration that is creating the "Alien Nation" that we have today is all documented as belonging to the aftermath of the great immigration act of 1965. Long after slavery was done in, but right about the time of the great society and the civil rights movement. Ted Kennedy is the author. Read about it in Peter Brimelow's book by the title above in quotes. Whatever you do, don't fall into the socialist trap of believing that the government has a solution to this problem of open space. (The government could solve immigration problems practically overnight but for the reasons we have mentioned, they are stalling. But they will solve the problem because they can't leave the door open with terrorism on the horizon and sneaking across the border with the undocumented workers.
I'm a California native. I lived there for nearly 40 years. It's too crowded. My house was only 5 miles from the beach, yet I rarely bothered going. I can recall attending a total of 10 activities on the beach in my lifetime. More severely ingrained is years of sitting in traffic for 40 to 70 minutes in a 7 mile commute to work. That's 40 to 70 minutes EACH WAY. Screw that. I live in Idaho now. No traffic. My "commute" is a 30 foot walk from my bedroom to my office. I drive less than 1,000 miles per year compared to over 1,000 miles per month when I lived in San Diego. My wood burning stove keeps the house nice and comfortable. Neighbors still burn leaves in the Fall. The streets are uncrowded. The snow covered mountains are a 10 minute drive away.
There are plenty of forests, meadows and mountains here. If I'm really hot for some water, the lakes and rivers are just fine. The locals are happy to water ski and jet ski on the local lakes and reservoirs. When the snow arrives, they bring out the snow mobiles, alpine skis and cross country skis. Take a drive from San Diego to Pocatello on I-15. You'll change your mind about "crowding". It's only the people who insist on piling on top of each other in coastal areas who believe things are crowded.
I agree completely. I made 4 trips to Yellowstone in August and September this year. My digital camera was busy collecting great pics of the geological activity. I took few pictures of the mountains. They are just plain ugly. The massive amounts of dead wood in Yellowstone needs to be culled before another big fire wipes it out again. The bark beetles are killing off large numbers of trees. The killed trees become standing pieces of bone dry tinder.
This is the Rodeo/Chediski Fire
BTW, that number on fuel for electrical power was on a continuous basis.
Both photos of the fire were taken the same day at the same fire. The difference is that the Apache log and graze their land.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.