Allegheny County officials are asking residents to refrain from recreational burning, an activity they said has increased during the coronavirus pandemic.

“With more people at home due to the pandemic, we have seen a significant increase in recreational burning,” said Dr. Debra Bogen, Health Department Director. “The resulting smoke reduces local air quality and for our neighbors and friends with chronic diseases such as asthma or COPD, local burns can trigger the need for more medication, emergency medical visits and deterioration of the chronic conditions.”

The Health Department said complaints about open burning have doubled compared with the same time period last year. Many of those complaints were related to trash burning, which is prohibited in Allegheny County, officials said. Recreational burning of clean, dry wood is legal in most Allegheny County municipalities.

Covid-19 can pose a threat to people with a history of heart or respiratory illness, which can be amplified by open burning, officials said. Smoke can increase a person’s susceptibility, decrease an infected person’s ability to fight the coronavirus and worsen their symptoms.

Open burning can lead to brush and other types of fires. Responding firefighters often have to work close to one another.

“Help us help you,” said Chief Matt Brown, director of Allegheny County Emergency Services, which also has received complaints related to open burning. “We are entering the spring brush and wildfire season, which adds to the threat of a controlled burn becoming an uncontrolled burn.”

More information on the county’s Open Burning Regulations can be found at: https://j.mp/2wFVzEU.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)