Burn ban is over

Due to improvements in air quality and rain, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has lifted a Stage 1 burn ban in Pierce County. 
The change took effect Tuesday at 10 a.m. Burning in fireplaces or woodstoves not certified by the Environmental Protection Agency had been forbidden, with violators subject to penalties of $1,000.
A burn ban had been in effect since Jan. 12 because of air pollution at or near unhealthful levels.