"Check Before You Burn" comes to a clearer close

 To cut down on wintertime pollution, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District set in place the "Check Before You Burn" residential wood-burning season. This year's season started in November, and it just ended Feb. 29.

 During the season, citizens had to check their county's air quality before burning any solid fuel, such as wood, manufactured fire logs or pellets. If air quality was bad, burning was prohibited, or at least discouraged.

 The Air Pollution Control District announced today that the fifth year of its Check Before You Burn season went well. Merced and San Joaquin Counties made it out of the season with no burning prohibitions. Last year Merced County had two days in February when people were prohibited from using their fireplaces. Fresno County had half the wood-burning declarations it did last season. And in Stanislaus County just one curtailment day was declared, compared with nine last year.