Thursday 07/03/2008 Burning

12:15 AM: I had to get up out of bed so just for the heck of it I stuck my head out the back door. Smoky! I would rate it a medium. Terrible! According to current ordinance recreational burning is supposed to cease at 11:00 PM. Obviously people are violating the rule. It was breezy at this time of night. Good thing the windows were closed or else the whole house would have reeked of wood smoke.

Would you like your entire house to smell like burnt wood at 12:15 AM on a weekday (or any other day)? Probably not. Who would?

That's why we need recreational burning banned in this city. It has gotten way out of control to the point where living here is pure misery. There is absolutely no need for the recreational burning of wood and the air pollution it creates. Fresh air is needed by everyone.

It never used to be like this in North St. Paul. I remember just a few years ago when you would wake up to the wonderful aroma of lilacs and blossoms in the spring. Now? You have to leave your windows closed at night or you'll wake up choking on wood smoke!

6:30 AM: Nice fresh air. It should be like this at all hours of the day, every day.

Is it nice to breathe fresh air that isn't polluted with the smoke from unnecessary recreational fires? Yes it is. Too bad we have so little fresh air in this city.

4:45 PM: The guy down the street who burns almost every day is burning wood. Smoky. Close windows.

6:45 PM: The same guy burning at 4:45 PM is burning wood. Huge plumes of smoke are coming from his backyard. The wind isn't blowing this direction, so we are spared the brunt of the pollution. Enough came this direction to tell he was burning wood. At 7:45 PM he is still burning strong.

Since this is a holiday weekend I expect the entire city of North St. Paul will be a miserable smoky hell.

9:00 PM: The first guy down the street who was burning earlier has stopped. But another neighbor to the northwest has a fire going. The air is smoky.

10:30 PM: Light to moderate smokiness outside. Too smoky to open the windows. I can't stand the smell of wood smoke and don't want it in the house.

11:45 PM: You guessed it: the air is smoky. Light to moderate smokiness at this time. I debated going for a walk to see if I could find the source(s), but I'm not going to. No fresh air tonight.