By Linda Taaffe

Tougher federal pollution standards could mean the end of one Christmas Day holiday tradition for some Santa Clara County residents - air district officials are urging residents to refrain from gathering around the glow of a cozy, crackling fire this season in order to keep air pollution at an acceptable level.

Officials said they anticipate issuing between seven to 10 “Spare the Air Tonight” advisories asking the public to voluntarily refrain from burning wood and driving between now and the end of January to meet the new air quality requirements.

This season’s frequent rain has helped flush the atmosphere of pollutants. The air district has not had to issue advisories yet, a spokeswoman said Friday.

Wood burning and driving are the two major causes of air pollution in the winter time, especially during the holidays when people tend to gather and light a fire, a spokeswoman said.

A district report says burning wood causes up to 50 percent of the air pollution in Santa Clara County on some days. Every 1,000 woodburning fireplaces produces about 5 tons of pollution during the winter, she said. There are about 17,000 wood-burning fireplaces in the county.

Experts compared wood smoke to tobacco smoke.

Wood smoke is toxic and especially dangerous for children and those with respiratory problems, said Jack Broadbent, air district CEO. “The worst kind of air pollution is created by burning wood. There is abundent health and scientific data on the dangers of exposure to the tiny particulates in wood smoke.”

In Los Altos, the city introduced a wood-burning fireplace ban in 2001 after a resident allergic to wood smoke complained about the quality of air in her neighborhood.

As a result, no new wood-burning fireplaces may be built in Los Altos. The law is intended to reduce the toxic air pollutants.