Goals of the burning program were to: 1) prove that agricultural burning could be conducted on days that under the previous burning program would have been declared no-burn days, without unduly affecting air quality; 2) increase the amount of rice acreage burned using a variable burn acreage system; 3) improve air quality in urban areas, particularly in Sacramento.

Richard Booth. Butte Air Pollution Control District, discusses the experimental rice straw burning program at the Rice Field Day, Biggs.

Early and frequent rains dominated 1981 fall agricultural burning. Rainfall occurred on at least 17 days and left many more days too wet for burning. Even though the total acreage of straw burned was significantly less in 1981 than in previous years, the results of the test burning program were very promising as indicated by the following results:

• 166,000 acres were burned from October 1 to November 15 under weather conditions which, under the 1980 rules would have resulted in the burning of only 144,000 acres. About 32,000 acres were burned before October 1.
• 34,000 acres were burned on 13 days during the fall of 1981 under weather conditions which, under the 1980 rule, would have been basin-wide no-burn days.
• Burning proceeded at a 15 percent higher average rate in 1981 (5,929 acres per day) than would have been the case under the 1980 rules (5,143 acres per day).

Observations at the Sacramento Executive Airport in 1981 showed only 69 hours in which visibility was reduced to six miles or less due to smoke. In other years, this figure has generally exceeded 150 hours. Air monitoring instruments throughout the valley confirmed that air quality in the fall of 1981 was measurably improved. The 1981 experiments have shown where even further improvements can be made in 1982.