Catching Up With The North St. Paul Burning Log

Sorry I have neglected updates the past few weeks. Thanks to you readers for not abandoning my blog. Every single day I get visitors to this blog. It's nice to know that others are reading it.

Burning of wood in the city of North Saint Paul:

Saturday 08/30/2008
State Fair day. Got back before 11 PM. The air was smoky as hell. Could hardly breathe after driving into North St. Paul. Fortunately, the windows were all closed up and the AC was on. Otherwise, the house would have reeked of a burning log!

Month of September 2008:
We got some much needed rain this month. Rain puts a damper on the recreational burning of wood. Combined with some cooler than average temperatures, people haven't been burning as much. But they are still burning a lot of wood in this city.

08/31/2008 - 09/06/2008:
Temperatures were in the 80s the first few days of this week then the temps dropped to the upper 60s for highs. By mid-week, there was only one day where there was burning of wood. Wednesday, Sept. 3rd was a smoky evening. I was sitting outside enjoying a cloudy evening when I was forced back inside by the smoky air.

Friday 09/05/2008 was very smoky as well. Every breathe you took outside was filled with the horrid stench of burning wood. It's horrible. It's the only thing you can smell. It's like being in a log cabin that is burning down around you. All you smell is smoke smoke smoke smoke! Every breath you take is smoky air in North St. Paul!

I don't recall if it was smoky on the Saturday of this week. I believe it rained. I didn't make good notes on this day.

09/07/2008 - 09/13/2008
More cooler temperatures this week helped reduce the unnecessary air pollution from recreational burning. It is so nice to breathe fresh air, you can't imagine how happy I am when it isn't smoky outside!

Wednesday Sept. 10th was smoky. Yes, somebody decided to burn some wood. Who? I don't know. It wasn't anyone nearby. That smoke drifts on the wind and you can smell it at least a mile from its source, possibly even further.

Friday Sept. 12th was smoky as hell. Nobody around me was burning, it could have been someone a block or two over. Who knows. All I know is that the windows had to remain shut all damn night. We are talking nice, cool nights. The high this day was low 70s. No need to keep the house all closed up. In a normal town you should not have to keep your windows closed all the time. But in the city of N. St. Paul you don't have much choice.

Saturday Sept. 13th was another smoky as hell evening. Even the early rain couldn't put a damper on people's desire to torch some wood for recreational purposes. And the 95% of us who never burn wood have to breathe the damn smoky air because of the mayor and city council's refusal to address this issue!

Sunday 09/14/2008
I noticed no burning this day. I turn in earlier now that I must be up earlier. I am often in bed by 9 PM, windows closed, of course. So I am not tracking any burning after that time.

Monday 09/15/2008
No burning. Kind of cool this day.

Tuesday 09/16/2008
Yes, more burning of wood for recreational purposes this evening. The temperature is back up near 80 degrees. I guess people can't resist the urge to sit around a pile of burning wood.

Too bad, because there are hundreds, if not thousands of us who have to breathe that smoky air from one person's recreational fire. Hundreds or a thousand or more people have to endure smoky air because of one person, and the mayor and city council thinks it is good.

Wednesday 09/17/2008
More burning of wood this evening. It isn't sickeningly strong smoke like it is on the weekends, but it is strong enough to be offensive. It isn't anything anyone would want to smell in their home. That's probably why my neighbors have their windows closed.

Thursday 09/18/2008
More burning. That's three days in a row that people have been burning wood in the evening. Earlier in the month I had hoped that most of the recreational burning was done for the year. Having lived in this city for a few years, I should have known better.

North St. Paul is a burner's paradise, thanks to city council member Jan Walczak and Mayor Mike Kuehn. I'm surprised there are any trees left in this city with the high tendency to burn anything combustible in this screwed up town!

Satan would love North St. Paul. Fire and brimstone or smoky wood, which is worse? Maybe Satan does live in North St. Paul. Maybe he's the mayor or on the city council? That would explain why the city is such a smoky hell and miserable place to live!

Friday 09/19/2008
If you were to wager on whether or not the air was smoky this evening, on which side would you wager? Smoky, or not smoky? If you picked smoky, congratulations, you are a winner! Betting that any evening is going to be without smoke would be a sucker's bet. It's smoky a majority of the evenings in North St. Paul. And that is why living here is hell!

Another evening of wood smoke so strong it turns your stomach and burns your nose. Thanks very much, Jan Walczak. You blew me off when I turned to you for help. You have made life in this city a living hell.

Saturday 09/20/2008
Another day in Lucifer's garden. The burning started early today. By 11:30 AM someone was burning wood in the area of Helen and 15th. All day long it was smoky air, and it got even worse once the sun went down!

During the day, it didn't matter which direction the wind was blowing, the air was smoky. When the wind blew one direction, it was strong, when it briefly changed directions, it was weak, until it changed direction again.

There is no happiness in North St. Paul with air quality so poor. This is a terrible place to live.

I left the windows closed all night. By the time I went to bed around 11 PM the air was so smoky you couldn't breathe it. When I woke up around 5:30 AM Sunday morning you could still smell the smokiness in the air.

All day and all night the air was smoky! All damn day and all damn night!


Another smoky as hell evening in North St. Paul