Recreational Fires Must Be Eliminated

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WELCOME TO HELL ON EARTH

The air is smoky from burning wood in North St. Paul, MN, almost every evening. It is a nightmare. What used to be a nice place to live has become a living hell.

WARNING: If you buy a house in North St. Paul, MN, you will regret it! It may be the biggest, most expensive mistake you ever make. You will breathe smoky air almost every day of your life in this town. This is not an exaggeration. The wood smoke in this town gets heavy and gets heavy often. When you want to get out of this dump of a town, how many people do you think are going to want to buy a house in a city where heavy air pollution every night is normal and clean air is rare? This blog gets thousands of visitors every year. The word is out: North St. Paul is a horrible place to live!

Fresh air is very rare around here. If you are considering moving to North St. Paul or buying a home here, I strongly recommend that you do not do it no matter how good of a price you get. The only way you will be happy in this town is if you love breathing smoky air almost every day. North St. Paul, MN, is a horrible place to live because of the smoky air!

Burning wood, grass, leaves, paper, cardboard, and sometimes plastic, construction materials, and chemicals, if it is combustible it gets burned in North St. Paul and you are going to breathe it.

The air was smoky 25 out of 31 evenings in July 2009. We had 37 hours of continuous wood smoke in the air Aug. 29th - 31st. There was wood smoke in the air 19 consecutive evenings from Aug. 21st to Sept. 8th. It rained heavily on Aug. 20th, providing the only relief we got from wood smoke for almost three weeks.

Is this a good way to live? No. It is a horrible way to live. Take it from someone who knows. Breathing smoky, polluted air every day is misery.

Every day in this city several people are having recreational fires. Every evening the air is filled with the stench of burning wood. I am one person sick and tired of breathing smoky air every day. Is it too much to ask to be able to breathe fresh air in your own home?

Who is responsible for this wood smoke nightmare? The four city council members are responsible. Council members Jan Walczak, Bob Bruton, Terry Furlong, and Dave Zick have refused to do anything about this wood smoke problem. They don't care if you have a child with asthma. They don't care if you have to live like a shut-in because the air is so polluted. They don't care if your sinuses burn because the wood smoke is so heavy.

Our four Council members have defended the rights of a small percentage of households to burn wood daily over the rights of all the rest of us to breathe.

You have no right to breathe under Walczak, Bruton, Furlong, and Zick. Burners have the right to burn wood 49 hours a week recreationally. The rest of us have no rights at all.

If you are considering purchasing real estate in the city of North Saint Paul, Minnesota (55109), factor this blog carefully into your decision. Buying a home in this city means that your kids will breathe smoky air while playing in the yard almost every day. Your baby will breathe smoky air in her crib should you leave the windows open around your house. If you leave your windows open you will wake up in the middle of the night choking on smoky air.

Perhaps worst of all, your utility rates will be high because you will have to run the air conditioner instead of leaving the windows open on a cool summer evening. You have no other choice because almost every night the air is too smoky to breathe in this city. Consider this blog your warning.

North St. Paul, Minnesota, is a wonderful community other than the wood smoke. If we could restore fresh air like we used to enjoy, life would be happy again. But that is not going to happen any time soon.

Tell others about this blog!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Firepits and chimnea everywhere

Within the past few days, I spent some time going up and down the alleys between Charles St. and 1st Ave. on the north side of town. Alleys provide an opportunity to see what people have in their backyards. I was very disappointed to see so many firepits and chimnea. If you don't know what a chimnea is, a picture is on the left. They are also called outdoor fireplaces. They really are nothing more than portable air pollution contraptions.

I would estimate that more than one-third of the houses on some blocks had firepits or chimnea. No wonder this city is so smoky. I saw one of these things in the driveway of a house down the block recently. I've never seen that household have a fire before. It looks like we may be getting yet another recreational air polluter in the area. Just what this city needs.....

Thursday 07/30/2009 Air Pollution

2:17 PM: Faint odor of burning grass. I happened to be around today to notice it. I smelled it as I was at the computer looking up phone numbers for my campaign to pressure the city council to do the right thing and end this horrible wood smoke pollution problem. I've been running behind schedule. I wanted to get started first thing this week. No hurry. The wood smoke will be around. It has been for years and will be for years to come unless something is done about it.

4:37 PM: Pouring rain. Hopefully, everything will be too wet to burn allowing us a rare evening without wood smoke.

5:00 PM: The rain has stopped and the sun is shining again. It looks like our hopes for a smoke-free evening have been dashed. We will see. I bet that wet wood will be extra smoky.

6:00 PM: No wood smoke.

8:00 PM: No wood smoke yet. Only wonderful fresh air. It's a beautiful, cool summer evening. 68 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

9:00 PM: No wood smoke.

10:00 PM: No wood smoke.

11:00 PM: No wood smoke. Last check of the evening.

We got lucky today. This was the first day without wood smoke in the past seven days. We got six days of smoky air and one day of fresh air in the past week. This is how we live in North St. Paul, MN.

Wednesday 07/29/2009 Air Pollution

4:00 PM: Faint wood smoke.

4:45 PM: Faint wood smoke continues.

5:30 PM: Wood smoke is gone.

7:00 PM: No wood smoke.

8:00 PM: No wood smoke. 75 degrees at this time.

9:00 PM: No wood smoke.

9:45 PM: Light wood smoke.

11:00 PM: No wood smoke. It rained sometime between 10 PM and this time.

Overall this was not a very smoky evening. Like almost every evening, there was wood smoke. The rain killed it before it got too bad.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Tuesday 07/28/2009 Air Pollution

4:45 PM: Faint smoke from burning grass. I could smell it coming in the window. There is someone who lives on the block of Helen and Lake close to Poplar who burns grass, usually on Tuesdays. Last year, I saw a large cloud of smoke and smelled burning grass twice when I was passing by there on Tuesday mornings. It seems to be coming from that direction. I am not sure.

7:30 PM: Moderate wood smoke. I could not determine the source. Nobody around us appears to be burning. It could be someone a block or more away. You can smell wood smoke a half-mile away from the source if the wind is right.

8:00 PM: Wood smoke is mostly gone.

10:30 PM: Faint wood smoke. I woke up and checked the air before heading back to bed. Good thing the windows are closed. Breathing smoky air in bed is not pleasant. Do you want to breathe smoky air in your bedroom at night? We don't.

I got up around 3 AM and opened the windows to cool the house. The air was fresh at this time.

Monday 07/27/2009 Air Pollution

9:00 PM: Light wood smoke.

9:30 PM: Faint wood smoke. Going to bed.

The air was smoky around 6 PM. It smelled more like grilling than wood. But it was hard to tell what it was really. I don't complain about smoke from charcoal or propane grills. Grilling food does not take long. Smoke from grilling meat is not a nuisance like wood smoke, but I wouldn't want to smell it for 10 hours a day like we often do with wood smoke. It's the one or two people who grill with wood as a primary fuel that concern me. The wood smolders for hours after the grilling has been finished, smoking up the entire block. One guy grills with wood for half-an-hour but his wood smolders for three hours or longer. After his wood finishes smoldering is when the recreational bonfires usually start. That makes for a long, smoky evening.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Sunday 07/26/2009 Air Pollution

12:30 AM: Moderate wood smoke continues. It's very smoky outside. As usual.

2:00 AM: Light wood smoke. Last check of the evening.

7:00 AM: Air is fresh. I stepped outside, took a deep breath and smelled nothing. This is the way it should be.

It's yet another smoky hell of an evening in North St. Paul, MN.

7:00 PM: Light wood smoke. It smells like someone is grilling with wood as a primary fuel. I think I know who is doing it.

8:30 PM: Very faint wood smoke.

9:05 PM: Extremely heavy wood smoke. With all the windows closed I can still smell that damn wood smoke coming in! That's how strong it is. Horrible. 78 degrees at this time, a gorgeous summer evening ruined by wood smoke.

10:00 PM: Very faint trace of wood smoke lingers.

11:00 PM: No wood smoke. Fresh air.

11:30 PM: No wood smoke. Last check of the night.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Air pollution linked to lower IQ in kids

Exposure to air pollution while pregnant can lead to lower IQ in children, so says a Time article about the effects of environmental pollution on the developing brains of children.

Air pollution's effect on children

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are found in high concentrations in wood smoke. Our city council members are poisoning the children of the city.

Saturday 07/25/2009 Air Pollution

1:00 AM: Moderately strong wood smoke. It's really smoky outside. Horrible smoky air.

3:00 AM: Moderate wood smoke continues.

4:30 AM: Light wood smoke. I heard my neighbor's air conditioner running when I stuck my head out the door. We aren't the only ones who have to close our windows and run our air conditioner when it is 65 degrees outside because of this horrible wood smoke pollution. There has been wood smoke in the air continuously for the past 11 hours. Would you like to live in this city?

6:00 AM: Faint trace of wood smoke lingers in the air.

12:00 PM: Can smell a faint odor of burnt wood in the air coming out of the west.

6:45 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. Jerk neighbor appears to be grilling with wood as a primary fuel. The air reeks of wood smoke. He will leave his wood smoldering for hours.

8:00 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues.

9:00 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues. 75 degrees, mostly cloudy at this time.

9:45 PM: Moderate to strong wood smoke. Very smoky outside. The air reeks of burning wood. There will be no fresh air tonight in North St. Paul. It will likely be smoky well into the morning hours. You can thank the four clowns on the city council for this air pollution.

11:15 PM: Strong wood smoke. I do not see how the city council members can support air pollution this intense. Do Bob Bruton, Jan Walczak, Terry Furlong, and Dave Zick really believe the people enjoy breathing air this polluted?

11:45 PM: Strong wood smoke continues. 70 degrees, cool at this time. We have the air conditioning on again because of this terrible air pollution. This costs us money. It adds more pollution because of the electricity needed to run the system. Ten years ago we left the windows open for days or weeks at a time. There was no wood smoke then. Nobody around here can have their windows open on a smoky night like this. I would step outside and look at my neighbors' windows to confirm, but doing so would leave my clothes and body reeking of wood smoke!

We are prisoners in our own home again in North St. Paul!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Friday 07/24/2009 Air Pollution

It's another smoky hell of an evening in North St. Paul, MN.

5:30 PM: Light wood smoke. Smells like somebody is grilling using wood as a primary fuel. They will likely leave the wood smoldering for hours polluting the entire block. Sunny, 77 degrees.

6:30 PM: Faint to light wood smoke continues.

7:45 PM: Faint wood smoke continues.

8:30 PM: Light wood smoke.

9:30 PM: Faint wood smoke depending on wind.

11:15 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. Somebody started burning since the last check. It is getting smoky out there. If the windows were open, the entire house would reek of wood smoke. 70 degrees at this time. This would be a great night to leave the windows open to cool the house. BUT WE CAN'T! Damn this polluted city!

This is a horrible way to live.

Thursday 07/23/2009 Air Pollution

No wood smoke this evening. I could not believe it. The weather was beautiful with evening temps in the low 80s with lots of sun. This makes the fourth evening in a row without wood smoke. Monday was cloudy and looked like it might rain but didn't. It rained Tuesday and Wednesday. This evening was picture perfect. The only thing in the air was a mild sulfur smell after 10 PM. This was a fabulous evening to spend outside.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Wednesday 07/22/2009 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening. This was the third evening in a row without wood smoke. The reason for the lack of recreational bonfires was because it rained this evening. It rained starting at 4:45 PM and got heavy until 5:15 PM. It rained briefly around 8:45 PM. It rained again at 10:30 PM.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Tuesday 07/21/2009 Air Pollution

No wood smoke again this evening. Heavy rain at 5:30 PM left everything soaking wet. I went for a cruise through the neighborhoods this evening at 9 PM. I did not find any wood smoke anywhere I went. Fresh air is so nice and so very rare in this town. I wish every day was free from wood smoke pollution.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Monday 07/20/2009 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening. We were given a rare break from wood smoke pollution.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sunday 07/19/2009 Air Pollution

1:00 AM: Moderate wood smoke. Very smoky outside.

2:00 AM: Moderate wood smoke continues.

3:oo AM: Moderate wood smoke continues. That makes almost 15 hours of nonstop smoky air. This city sucks.

9:00 AM: Faint something unpleasant in the air.

6:45 PM: Light wood smoke. Jerk neighbor down the street is burning again. Last year that jerk burned wood daily. He burns grass, too, and has for years. He took some time off the first half of the summer, he's now back in action. Good thing for us the wind isn't blowing our direction. The wood smoke would be pretty heavy if it were.

I sometimes wonder if these neighbors burn to spite each other. Directly behind him is a house with a big firepit in the backyard. Earlier this summer, you could count on them to burn every weekend. It looks like teenagers or young adults live there. The smoke would drift right into the jerk's yard. They don't burn so much the past couple of weeks. But now the jerk is burning several times a week.

Sometimes I think I should buy a bunch of firewood and start burning myself. Why not? We have to breathe smoky air every damn day. Why shouldn't we be the ones polluting the air?

7:45 PM: No wood smoke. Jerk appears to be done burning.

9:00 PM: No wood smoke. The air is not fresh, but it isn't filled with wood smoke.

10:00 PM: No wood smoke. The windows are open and the exhaust fan is on to cool the house before bed.

10:55 PM: Moderate wood smoke. DAMMIT! Someone is burning wood! As soon as I noticed wood smoke coming in, I shut off the fan and closed all the windows. Some asshole had to start a fire this late. It happens ALL THE TIME and the city council doesn't care at all. They suck. I cannot think of a single thing they add to the community other than air pollution. I went outside and looked around and nobody around me was burning. It could be someone a block or two away. It seems like the wood smoke is coming out of the south or southeast. 66 degrees. Gorgeous night to have the windows open except in this f-ed up city!

11:20 PM: Moderate to strong wood smoke. It is very smoky outside. If anybody out there is looking to buy a house and finds this blog, this is what you are going to be living like every day if you move into this town. North St. Paul is a nightmare of epic proportions. It used to be a great place to live. Now it is a smoky, polluted hell. Every single day we are forced to breathe smoky air because of the city council. You will not be happy here as long as this wood smoke nightmare continues.

11:49 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues. Going to sleep now. With the windows closed!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Saturday 07/18/2009 Air Pollution

It was bad enough that it was smoky all of last evening and well into the morning hours. We had to endure wood smoke pollution most of this day.

1:00 AM: Very faint wood smoke.

1:45 AM: Faint wood smoke.

3:45 AM: Faint wood smoke continues. I stuck my head out the door when I woke up.

That makes 10.5 hours of continuous wood smoke.

12:30 PM: Faint to light wood smoke. 62 degrees, cloudy. Wood smoke this early is probably from some jerk using a fireplace in July.

1:30 PM: Faint to light wood smoke continues.

2:30 PM: Faint to light wood smoke continues.

3:30 PM: Faint to light wood smoke continues.

5:30 PM: Light wood smoke in the front yard. None in the back.

6:45 PM: Faint to light wood smoke.

8:15 PM: Faint to light wood smoke continues.

9:30 PM: Faint wood smoke.

11:00 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. Can't open the windows. Stuffy in here.

Midnight: Moderate wood smoke. It's smoky outside. Damn this polluted city. This makes almost 12 hours of nonstop smoky air today. No fresh air in North St. Paul. 56 degrees.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Friday 07/17/2009 Burning

It's another smoky evening in North St. Paul.

5:05 PM: Moderate wood smoke. Smells a little like grilling. I think someone may be grilling with wood as a primary fuel. This is something new. I did not notice this in prior years. This year is when it seems to have picked up in my neighborhood with one or two households.

Imagine what a smoky hell this city would be if on top of all the recreational fires people started grilling meat using wood instead of propane, natural gas, or charcoal briquettes. The neighbor who grills with wood does not ever put the wood out after he's done cooking. It smolders for hours, smoking up the entire block. He's also a grass burner. Nobody likes him. We wish he would move.

62 degrees, cloudy, with a breeze at this time.

5:45 PM: Light wood smoke.

6:15 PM: Faint to light wood smoke.

7:45 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke.

9:15 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues. 62 degrees, cloudy.

It's been four hours of nonstop smoky air this evening with no end in sight. DAMMIT!

10:00 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues. The smoke is strongest when the wind blows out of the east. Could this smoke be from a fireplace? Who would use a fireplace in mid July when the temperature is in the 60s? Someone in North St. Paul would, probably.

11:00 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues.

Midnight: Light to moderate wood smoke continues.

Thursday 07/16/2009 Air Pollution

6:30 PM: Faint wood smoke. 66 degrees, mostly cloudy.

8:00 PM: No wood smoke.

8:40 PM: Light wood smoke. Did not last long.

11:00 PM: Some sort of sweet smell in the air. I'm not sure what it is. Some types of wood emit a sweet odor when burned. I can't say what it is. The odor lasted well into the morning hours.

This was a very light day for wood smoke, thankfully.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Wednesday 07/15/2009 Air Pollution

5:00 PM: No wood smoke. 77 degrees, windy, sunny.

7:52 PM: Faint wood smoke. Did not last too long.

9:05 PM: Very faint wood smoke. Coming out of the west from a distant burner.

10:00 PM: No wood smoke.

11:00 PM: Faint trace of wood smoke for a minute.

There was almost no wood smoke this day. Nobody near us was burning wood, thankfully. The only wood smoke we experienced was from whatever drifted in on the wind. It was a little windy for recreational fires. The wind would blow embers all over.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Tuesday 07/14/2009 Air Pollution

5:00 PM: No wood smoke at this time. Cloudy, windy, 78 degrees. Storms are moving in. Hopefully there will be no wood smoke this evening.

9:00 PM: Still no wood smoke. A few drops of rain fell around this time.

10:15 PM: Rained for a few seconds.

There was no wood smoke this evening because of the weather conditions. We had a rare evening of fresh air in North St. Paul, Minnesota. It was wonderful to be outside and smell nothing. It won't last. It never does in this polluted city.

Monday 07/13/2009 Air Pollution

6:10 PM: Faint trace of something in the air. I cannot say what it is. Cloudy, 80 degrees.

7:00 PM: Something is in the air. Doesn't smell like wood. Not sure what it is.

8:35 PM: Faint wood smoke.

9:00 PM: Light wood smoke. It's getting smoky.

9:45 PM: No wood smoke. The burning stopped or the wind shifted.

11:00 PM: No wood smoke.

Today was a very low air pollution evening for North St. Paul, MN.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Sunday 07/12/2009 Air Pollution

2:00 AM: Moderate wood smoke. The air is still very smoky. It reeks! Someone has a fire going at this late hour or did not properly extinguish it, leaving it smoldering all night long. This happens all the time. Pity. It is 61 degrees at this hour with low humidity. Would it be nice to have the windows open so the whole house is nice and cool come morning? Yes it would. But we can't! The whole house would reek of burning wood if we opened the windows! We are prisoners in our own home again in this city! None of my neighbors have their windows open at this time. I heard a neighbor's air conditioner running when I stuck my head out the door. It is 61 degrees. Nobody would need their air conditioner running when it is this cool if it were not for the damn wood smoke!

3:30 AM: Light to moderate wood smoke. The air still reeks.

8:00 AM: Faint burnt wood odor. Air still stinks. Ick.

11:00 AM: Faint burnt wood odor continues.

1:00 PM: Faint burnt wood odor continues. That makes it almost 20 hours of foul air.

7:30 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. The air reeks of burning wood.

8:45 PM: Faint to light wood smoke.

9:00 PM: No wood smoke.

10:00 PM: No real wood smoke detected. A faint trace of something is in the air.

Midnight: No wood smoke. Air is fresh.

The air was unpolluted by wood smoke for the rest of the night.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Saturday 07/11/2009 Air Pollution

Welcome to hell on earth. It is another smoky hell of an evening in North St. Paul, Minnesota.

5:30 PM: Moderate wood smoke. Someone is grilling with wood. They can't be using a few ounces of wood chips with a smoker box. They have to be grilling over logs because it is very smoky. They will likely leave it smoldering for hours. One person has to grill with wood and everyone around them has to breathe wood smoky air for hours. Is that fair? It isn't to me. I don't have any problem with grilling. Grilling food usually does not take long. But these people leave the wood smoldering for hours after the cooking is done.

6:30 PM: Intermittent moderate wood smoke varying with the wind.

7:00 PM: Moderately heavy wood smoke. The air outside reeks of burning wood. It's from the same people cooking food at 5:30 PM.

8:00 PM: No wood smoke. Fresh air! It will not last long. It never does in this city.

9:00 PM: Light wood smoke. The fresh air did not last long.

9:45 PM: Extremely heavy wood smoke. It almost knocks you off your feet.

10:30 PM: I went out for a spin at this time. I did see that one of city council member Jan Walczak's neighbors is having a bonfire. Very smoky in that area. She has to smell it. She is four houses down from them on the opposite side of the street. I think they have had four fires in the past eight days from what I have seen, maybe more. They are frequent polluters. Enjoy the wood smoke, Ms. Walczak. You, unlike us, have the power to eliminate it. We have to suffer because of you and your colleagues on the city council who do not have the guts to end this air pollution. I hope the wood smoke lasts all night long and you wake up to the scent of burnt wood like we have many, many times. Nothing says good morning like opening the door to retrieve the paper and being greeted by the stench of burnt wood.

Maybe some people like air pollution. It is unfortunate for all residents they are on our city council. Air pollution this bad has no place in modern society. With wood smoke as bad as it is in this city, you would think we were still living in the stone age. How many households have to close their windows this temperate evening because of one or two recreational wood burners? Is that fair?

It is pleasantly cool this evening. The temperature in North St. Paul measured at North High School is 67 degrees at this time. It would be a nice night to have the windows open. But we can't. It is too damn smoky outside! Again! As it is almost every day!

At least we were lucky enough to get a one hour break from the wood smoke this evening. That is better than we get most evenings. Ten hours of constant wood smoke is common.

11:15 PM: Strong wood smoke continues.

Midnight: Strong wood smoke continues.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Friday 07/10/2009 Air Pollution

It's going to be another smoky hell of an evening in North St. Paul, MN.

4:45 PM: Faint wood smoke. Someone is burning wood. I'm not sure who. I went around the block to try and find the source. I couldn't located the polluter. I know that it is someone in this row of houses.

5:15 PM: Light wood smoke. The air pollution is getting heavier.

6:00 PM: Light wood smoke continues.

6:30 PM: Moderate wood smoke. Air pollution is heavier still.

7:00 PM: Light wood smoke.

8:00 PM: Air is clear for the time being.

9:00 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke depending on wind. It is breezy this evening. This is good because the air pollution won't sit stationary and saturate the entire neighborhood.

10:00 PM: Light wood smoke.

11:00 PM: Faint to light wood smoke. A few drops of rain fell around this time.

11:30 PM: Light wood smoke. Last check of the evening.

It was another smoky day in North St. Paul, MN. Every day is a smoky, polluted nightmare in this city thanks to the City Council.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Thursday 07/09/2009 Air Pollution

There is never a day without wood smoke pollution in the city of North St. Paul, MN. You have to love smoky air in order to be happy living in this city.

4:30 PM: Faint wood smoke blowing in on the breeze. I noticed it coming in the window as I watched TV.

5:30 PM: Faint wood smoke continues.

7:45 PM: Faint to light wood smoke. Cloudy, looks like rain, 79 degrees.

At this time I went for a cruise around the northern section of the city. I discovered that the wood smoke we were smelling was coming from 18th & Margaret. It was very smoky a few houses east of Margaret. I could not locate the fire. I didn't think that wood smoke from this area would make it as far away as we are. But it does. Wood smoke goes wherever the wind blows it. Light rain mist occurred during this time.

Grass burning

I smelled burning grass on Longview. It was coming from someone on this street or the houses behind it on Navajo. I know there is a grass burner around here.

I also smelled burning grass at 2nd & Shoshone. I saw someone on the corner out in his backyard with his garage door open. I don't know if he was the one burning grass. It was really strong right in front of his house.

I also smelled some sort of smoke at 19th & 1st. It was gone when I went back around the block a couple of minutes later.

10:00 PM: No wood smoke where we are.

11:00 PM: No wood smoke where we are. The air does have a sulfur smell to it. This is coming from the industrial section of town.

Midnight: No wood smoke. Sulfur smell continues.

Nobody around us was burning this evening. The only wood smoke was blowing in on the wind from 18th & Margaret.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wednesday 07/08/2009 Air Pollution

There was plenty of wood smoke in North St. Paul, MN, this evening. A nice breeze kept it from accumulating in one spot. But the wind carried it far and wide -- right into our faces.

7:00 PM: Faint to light wood smoke where I am.

8:00 PM: Faint wood smoke. You can't smell much of it, but you notice it when it gets in your house.

8:30 - 9:30 PM: I went looking for jackasses recreationally polluting the air. I located only two bonfires but found pockets of wood smoke in a few areas. Nobody around me was burning wood this evening -- a rarity. The wood smoke we smelled was drifting in on the breeze.



Bonfires I located

1) Lake Blvd. & Poplar Ave.: I saw a bonfire in the backyard of the first or second house in from the corner on the north side of the street. I could not determine which house it was because the fire was very near the property line. City Council member Bob Bruton lives only a few doors up from that bonfire. If he's home tonight, I hope he has his windows open. Breathe deeply, Mr. Bruton. We want those wood smoke carcinogens to go deep into your lungs. I should offer to buy those recreational polluters some free firewood. If we have to breathe smoky air every day, Bruton should, too.

The household having the bonfire also appeared to be shooting off fireworks of questionable legality. I am no pyrotechnician, but they looked like roman candles. If Bruton was any kind of law and order man, he would call the police on those people.

2) 19th Ave. & Reardon Place: I saw a small bonfire at the second house west from the corner of Reardon on 19th., a white house. It was smoky over there. It was smoky over there last night, too. They could possibly have been burning last night, too.

Smoky areas

3 & 4) Light wood smoke at Helen St. & Helen Ct. and also on the other side of the block on Lake Blvd. at the same spot. I could not locate the source of this wood smoke. City Council member Jan Walczak lives right at that spot. I hope she had her windows open. Breathe deep, Ms. Walczak. Wood smoke contains carcinogens, soot, ash, and other toxic chemicals. The deeper those carcinogens can get into your lungs, the more damage they can do. Since you support recreational burning and force us to breathe smoky air every day, you deserve any ill health effects wood smoke can produce.

5) Very smoky on 18th Ave. between Charles and Margaret Streets. The smoke was heaviest closer to Margaret. I couldn't find the burner. Last year, Charles & 18th was sickeningly smoky every night. It isn't nearly as bad this year.

6) Helen St. & 15th Ave.: Small pocket of strong wood smoke here. Smoke was concentrated a few houses east of the intersection.

7) Tower Park: There must be a frequent burner around here. I couldn't find the source of the burning. The wood smoke seemed heaviest on 14th at E. 2nd St N.

10:30 PM: No wood smoke where I am. It's been a pretty weak day for wood smoke around our home this evening. Let's hope it stays that way.

There was no more wood smoke this evening where I live.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Tuesday 07/07/2009 Burning

12:30 AM: Faint wood smoke. Either the wood burning is just starting or a shift in wind direction is bringing the smoke to our home. Smoky air is here. This is why we have to close the windows every night in this city! 70 degrees.

1:30 AM: Extremely strong wood smoke. This is the worst smelling wood smoke I have experienced yet. It is so strong and powerful and packs a pungent ammonia-like punch. Anyone who left their windows open is waking up to a nasty surprise.

2:00 AM: Powerful stench of ammonia-like wood smoke continues.

3:30 AM: Powerful stench of ammonia-like wood smoke continues.

4:30 AM: Air is clearing.

5:00 AM: Faint wood smoke.

Had I not been off this week I would not have been up late enough to witness this air pollution. We cannot live like this. I will be asking my neighbors to call up the city council members to complain. I will make sure everyone in this city knows that the reason they have to breathe smoky air is because of the city council members who know about the problem but have not done a thing about it.

Yes, we are angry about this air pollution problem. We will take our fight to the people and let them decide if the current city council members are worthy of representing the interests of the community.

7:30 PM: Faint wood smoke. Clouds rolling in. Burners probably want to give us a dose of air pollution before the rain comes.

8:40 PM: Moderately heavy wood smoke.

9:00 PM: No wood smoke where I am. Must have been a shift in wind direction. I went out looking for wood smoke at this time. I noticed a faint trace of wood smoke in the vicinities of Shawnee & Chippewa, Reardon & 18th, and Helen & Polar. There was strong wood smoke at Helen & 19th concentrated at the intersection. It did not extend far beyond the intersection. Somebody did have a fire around there. I could not I locate the source of any of the wood smoke this evening. None of the frequent burners were burning when I was out.

10:00 PM: No wood smoke where I am.

10:30 PM: No wood smoke where I am. Bedtime.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Monday 07/06/2009 Burning

1:00 AM: Extremely strong wood smoke lingers in the air from last night's burning. The air reeks so badly of wood smoke you couldn't stand to breathe it for long.

We are prisoners in our own homes once again. 70 degrees, cool, nice night to have the windows open. But we can't!

2:45 AM: Moderate wood smoke. It is still smoky from smoldering wood from a recreational bonfire.

7:00 AM: Air still smells like wood smoke. Bonfire was left smoldering all night long. That makes 10 hours of constant smoky air.

The city council is the reason for this.

6:00 PM: No wood smoke. 84 degrees, sunny, a gorgeous summer evening.

7:15 PM: No wood smoke.

8:45 PM: No wood smoke yet. There will be. There always is.

10:30 PM: No wood smoke.

Midnight: No wood smoke.

While there was no wood smoke this evening before midnight, the wood burning started at 12:30 AM. I told you there is smoky, polluted air in North St. Paul every night of the week.

Air pollution warning for firework smoke

I got a hoot out of this article. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an air quality warning because of lingering smoke from fireworks this past 4th of July weekend.

The MPCA should check out the pollution from recreational fires in this city. I am planning to contact them this week and see if it would be possible to get the air quality measured.

The city of North St. Paul should send that warning out to everyone in the next city newsletter. If pollution from fireworks warrants an air quality warning, the air in this city would be off the charts.

It is 1 AM as I write this and the air outside reeks of wood smoke. The wood smoke is so heavy you can't even breathe the air! But this is the way the city council wants us to live.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Sunday 07/05/2009 Burning

6:45 AM: Faint to light wood smoke. DAMMIT! Cool outside, 62 degrees, sunny. I don't ever want to smell wood smoke and definitely not this early. So I went out to track down the source of the wood smoke.

The wood smoke was heaviest at Lake Blvd. & Swan Ave. That was the source of the wood smoke I smelled when I stepped outside this morning. Going around the corner of Swan at Lake, I smelled no wood smoke. I am not sure which house was producing the wood smoke at 7 AM. But it was one of the homes right in this area.



I also smelled light wood smoke on 19th a few houses east of Margaret. I smelled it the most right in front of an eyesore of a Ben Franklin truck. I went back through the alley and smelled nothing back there. I'm not sure where that wood smoke was coming from.

5:00 PM: Somebody is burning wood. There is never a day without wood smoke in this damn city!

5:45 PM: Light wood smoke. Whoever is burning still is. They may be burning all night long! Horrible.

7:00 PM: Faint wood smoke.

8:30 PM: No wood smoke.

9:15 PM: Faint wood smoke.

10:30 PM: Moderate wood smoke. I know who is burning this evening.

11:30 PM: Moderate wood smoke continues.

Midnight: Extremely strong wood smoke. A few breaths of that air makes you sick to your stomach!

We have the city council to thank for this air pollution. We endure this hell on earth because of their inaction on this issue.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Saturday 07/04/2009 Burning

Happy 4th of July....If there is such a thing as happiness in a city with daily air pollution so bad it burns your sinuses, gives you headaches, makes it difficult to breathe, and makes you feel sick.

5:00 AM: Nobody burning right now. Very faint burnt wood or smoky odor lingers in the air. It isn't that bad, but it isn't fresh air like we deserve as humans. Open windows.

9:00 AM: Very faint burnt wood or smoky odor lingers in the air. It isn't fresh air.

7:00 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke.

8:30 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke.

9:30 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke.

10:30 PM: Air is polluted. Smells more like gunpowder than wood smoke. Gunpowder smoke is less of an annoyance than wood smoke and reminds me of fireworks. I still wouldn't want to smell it every day.

11:30 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. Air still smells like gunpowder, but smells more like wood smoke.

Another smoky evening in North St. Paul, MN. The air is polluted each and every evening. This is a horrible way to live.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Friday 07/03/2009 Burning

12:30 AM: Strong wood smoke. It reeks of burning wood outside. I am having difficulty breathing. I can't step outside for a breath of fresh air because it is so damn polluted!

1:00 AM: Strong wood smoke continues.

1:30 AM: Moderate wood smoke. The air seems to be clearing. I hope that within the next two hours the air will be clear enough of smoke so I can step outside and take a few deep breaths. I am not going to be able to sleep when I cannot breathe!

2:15 AM: Smoky from smoldering wood.

3:00 AM: Light burnt wood odor.

3:30 AM: Faint burnt wood odor. The air is clearing....finally.

6:00 AM: Faint trace of burnt wood lingers in the air. It isn't fresh air, but it is better than what we had last night. Open windows.

7:00 AM: Somebody is burning grass. This early? Yes.

8:00 AM: No smoke where I am. I noticed light wood smoke when I was driving on 17th between Delaware & McKnight.

This weekend is going to be complete misery.

6:00 PM: Welcome to hell on earth. Wood burning has already started. Navajo west of Helen will be incredibly smoky tonight, as it is every night of the week. I expect the air will be heavily polluted for the next 12 hours or more. There will be many areas of heavy smokiness in the city tonight and this weekend. Wood smoke pollution will not be hard to find.

7:30 PM: No wood smoke where I am.

8:45 PM: Faint wood smoke.

9:30 PM: Faint wood smoke.

10:15 PM: Light wood smoke.

11:00 PM: Moderate wood smoke.

11:30 PM: Moderate wood smoke. Going to bed.

While it was not as smoky as I anticipated, it was another typical polluted night in North St. Paul, MN.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Thursday 07/02/2009 Burning

1:00 AM: The air outside reeks of burning wood. Someone may have left their fire smoldering.

3:00 AM: Air still reeks. Can't open windows yet.

5:00 AM: Stench of burnt wood is letting up. The air still smells bad.

That's more than eight hours of foul air on a Wednesday night-Thursday morning. I do not see how any city leader can support this. This happens all the time. It happens for no other reason than the city's recreational burning ordinance. As long as recreational burning and the air pollution it generates is allowed, this will continue to happen. Years from now this will be happening unless action is taken to stop it.

7:00 AM: Faint odor of burnt wood lingers in the air. Ten hours after the air got smoky it still hasn't cleared completely. Ick.

3:45 PM: Air still smells faintly of wood smoke. A bonfire must have been left smoldering all night and all day. Driving home I noticed light wood smoke from Indian Way and Helen and to the south of the intersection.

6:00 PM: Smoky again. Intermittent smoke coming in on the breeze. I went out and saw that it is coming from the vicinity of Navajo & 1st or the house behind them. They burn frequently. You can smell the smoke blocks away. If they are grilling, they are using wood as a primary fuel. It's wood smoke. It isn't charcoal. It will likely be smoky over there all night long. I feel sorry for the next door neighbors having to breathe that smoky air.

8:30 PM: Moderate wood smoke. Smells like some grass is burning as well. Tonight is another night in hell!

9:00 PM: Faint to light wood smoke.

10:30 PM: The air reeks of burnt wood.

Midnight: Moderate wood smoke. Can't sleep. I can't breathe! I am having difficulty breathing in my home! The windows have been closed all evening. The air is so polluted. 74 degrees.

This is pure hell.

Wednesday 07/01/2009 Burning

9:00 PM: Very strong wood smoke. The stench of wood smoke hangs heavy in the air. Gasping for air. Close windows.

10:00 PM: Moderate wood smoke continues.

Midnight: Air is still very smoky.