Funding available to replace wood-burning fireplaces, stoves

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bay Area residents in areas highly affected by wood smoke and air pollution now can get funds to replace their wood-burning fireplaces or stoves with cleaner heating options, air quality officials said.

Also, residents of those areas who already have cleaner heating options can get money to remove their wood-burning stoves or make their fireplaces permanently inoperable by such means as bricking them up, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

To be eligible, homeowners and landlords must own a residential property within the air district's nine-county jurisdiction and within an eligible area, the air district said.

To find out if you live in a qualifying area, visit the air district website at www.baaqmd.gov and put "wood smoke incentive" in the search box, an air district spokesman said.

"Moving toward cleaner heating alternatives and away from inefficient wood burning will improve air quality for all Bay Area residents, especially those who live in areas such as inland valleys or near freeways highly impacted by wood smoke and air pollution," Jack Broadbent, the air district's executive office, said in a statement.

Residents may be able to qualify for $750 to decommission a fireplace or wood-burning stove, $1,000 for a gas-fueled heating stove/sealed insert for natural gas or propane and $3,500 for an electric heat pump.

Additional funding is available for other criteria.

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