While, nationwide, only about two-percent of households still rely on wood for heating, that’s not the case in many rural foothill counties in California. In Nevada County, it was 16-percent in 2016, according to the latest information from the Census Bureau. That ranks third in the state for counties with populations higher than 65-thousand. Local Air Pollution Control Specialist Sam Longmire says it’s over 40-percent in some smaller, rural north state counties. But he says the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District does not impose indoor burning restrictions, unlike the more urban Sacramento region…

click to listen to Sam Longmire

Longmire says that doesn’t mean there’s no air pollution from burning wood. And he says there are ways for users to reduce it…

click to listen to Sam Longmire

Mendocino County has the highest wood burning rate for large counties, at 24-percent. Humboldt County is second, at 19-percent.