Please don’t choke the little Halloween goblins

 

Oct. 28, 2004 – Cool temperatures are in the forecast for Halloween, so please remember the little ghosties and ghoulies and goblins who will be traveling through our neighborhoods that night. Excess chimney smoke can hurt their little lungs – and those of older folks too.

Natural gas and propane stoves and fireplaces are the cleanest source of cozy fires, and you can use them even during a burn ban. If you have a wood stove or wood-burning fireplace that you’d like to replace, check out Puget Sound Energy’s special $250 offer.  And for those of you without natural gas service visit www.usepropane.org.

If you do heat with wood, use manufactured logs instead of firewood for a cleaner burn. If you use cut wood, be sure it is very dry, use small pieces, and give the fire lots of air. Never damper down a wood stove; that creates excess smoke. To learn more about clean-burning techniques, visit www.burningclean.com.

And always remember to check burn ban status at www.pscleanair.org before you light a wood fire. If there is a burn ban in effect, we’ll carry the message prominently on the home page. Or you can call (800) 595-4341 to hear a recorded message about burn ban status. You can also check current air quality and get air quality forecasts for the next two days on our Web site.