Agency wants you to use your wood stove less

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — An Olympia area clean air agency is asking residents to voluntarily reduce their use of wood stoves because of stagnant, cold air is putting the region's air quality at risk.

The Olympian newspaper reports the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency says that if people cut back on indoor burning they will not need to call an official burn ban. Burn bans prevent some people from using their wood stoves to heat their homes.

The agency is also asking homeowners to avoid burning yard waste during the holiday weekend. Exposure to wood smoke can cause breathing problems for some people and increase the severity of existing lung diseases like asthma.