ALBANY - State DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis has reminded residents to exercise great care when using wood stoves in their homes. With the winter heating season now fully upon us, many New Yorkers have begun using wood- fired stoves to take the chill off of their homes.

"While many still heat their homes with natural gas or oil, there has been a recent resurgence in the popularity of wood stoves," said Commissioner Grannis. "Using a wood stove can be an economical and environmentally responsible choice; however, it does require more oversight and responsibility than other heating options."

Here are some details and tips homeowners should know about wood stoves and burning wood:

• New York State law requires that no air pollution source, including wood stoves, have opacity of greater than 20 percent. Generally, if you can see a clearly defined smoke plume, there is a problem with the combustion process. A properly installed wood stove should be smoke free.
• A smoky fire is the result of incomplete combustion. The most common causes are wet wood, burning fuel other than wood, not enough air flow into the stove, an improperly maintained stove or chimney, or an old inefficient wood stove. Smoky fires damage the local air quality, waste fuel, and cause creosote deposits in chimneys that can lead to chimney fires.
• Wood should have been seasoned outdoors through the summer for at least 6 months before burning it. Properly seasoned wood has cracks in the end grain and sounds hollow when smacked against another piece of wood.
• Wood burns best when the moisture content is less than 20 percent. Home owners need to make sure that wood stored outdoors is stacked neatly off the ground with the top covered. Don't burn wet, rotted, diseased, or moldy wood.
• Never burn household garbage or construction debris. Any material other than clean wood may produce harmful chemicals when burned that can damage the wood stove and the local air quality. It is also a violation of New York State law.
• Start fires with newspaper and dry kindling. Do not use gasoline or charcoal starter fluid.
• To maintain proper airflow, regularly remove ashes.
• A fire built with dry clean wood and sufficient air flow will be hot, clean, safe, and efficient.