Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District, firewood applications have gone out to city residents with their March water bills. Battaglia said the district encourages all residents who have woodstoves certified by the Environmental Protection Agency to fill out and return the applications to qualify for two cords of free firewood, if they meet certain eligibility requirements.
In 2025, the district facilitated the changeout of 30 heating devices in Portola through its targeted airshed grants. The program assists residents in replacing inefficient, polluting heating devices with EPA-certified woodstoves, pellet stoves, heat pumps, propane heaters and kerosene heaters.
Over the past 10 years the district has exchanged 536 devices, which Battaglia called “pretty impactful” for air quality.
In addition to woodstove changeouts, the grants fund chimney sweep vouchers, woodshed vouchers, firewood vouchers, green waste pickup and distribution of air monitors, carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors, Battaglia said in an email to The Plumas Sun.
The grants are very specific to areas of poor air quality, she said. Air quality in Portola recently improved to the point of removing the area from federal nonattainment status, but money remains in the grants and the air quality district has applied for extensions to continue to support local air quality.
