The Kingston Common Council voted 7-0 Tuesday to approve a new law that would prohibit most outdoor fires whenever there is an elevated risk of wildfires. But in a blow to air quality activists who pushed for the legislation, the new law will exempt propane and charcoal grills from the ban.

Since 2009, New York State has instituted an annual burn ban in effect March 15 to May 15 when the risk of wildfires is highest due to dry brush and warming temperatures. A 1984 local ordinance also bans the emission of “dense smoke” that can be seen from its point of origin; other state and local laws prohibit burning brush, garbage and toxic materials.

The legislation passed on Tuesday would expand those bans to cover most outdoor burning on all days when the state Department of Conservation deems the risk of wildfires “high” “very high” or “extreme.” The ban extends to campfires, cooking fires, outdoor fireplaces and bonfires. The law authorizes the Kingston Fire Department to extinguish fires in violation of the ban and levy fines against persistent violators.

The vote comes after several years of lobbying by the Hudson Valley Air Quality Alliance, a grassroots group that advocates for clean air and has drawn attention to pollution caused by wood burning. The group made several presentations to the Kingston Common Council in the past few years positioning the proposed burn ban as a response to climate change. In a March letter to Mayor Steve Noble calling for the expanded burn ban, the group invoked the devastating wildfires that destroyed Los Angeles’ Altadena neighborhood last year.

Fire risk both here and [in Southern California] was at the highest possible level,” the letter reads. “Kingston was lucky to avoid catastrophe this time due to favorable winds, but climate-driven high wind conditions are becoming much more frequent here. In addition, the variety of other conditions that we share with California make future risks unacceptable.”

The Air Quality Alliance also specifically lobbied for a burn ban stricter than New York State’s, which includes exceptions for small outdoor wood and charcoal fires, calling the exemption irresponsible and dangerous. Following pushback from the public, however, the council’s Laws and Rules Committee voted to exempt propane, gas and charcoal grills from the expanded burn ban.

“I would prefer to have the ban on grills as well,” said Alderwoman Ruth Katz (D-Ward 8). “But I will vote for it because it brings us closer to a safer situation.”