The Bay Area Air District has issued a Spare the Air Alert for Thursday, banning wood burning in the region because of a forecast for high levels of pollution.

On Spare the Air days, it is illegal for Bay Area residents and businesses to use their fireplaces, wood stoves, outdoor fire pits or other wood-burning devices unless they have an exemption, such as being a home without permanently installed heating, according to the air district.

People who violate the wood burning ban will be encouraged to take a wood smoke awareness course if it is their first offense. Violators who don’t take the course will receive a $100 ticket, and subsequent violations will bring higher fines.

Air district officials said particulate matter pollution is harmful to breathe, particularly for young children, seniors, and those with respiratory or heart conditions.

Dan McMenamin is the managing editor at Bay City News, directing daily news coverage of the 12-county greater Bay Area. He has worked for BCN since 2008 and has been managing editor since 2014 after previously serving as BCN’s San Francisco bureau reporter. A UC Davis graduate, he came to BCN after working for a newspaper and nonprofit in the Davis area. He handles staffing, including coaching of our interns, day-to-day coverage decisions and management of the newswire.