4:15 PM: No smoke. 79 degrees. The temperature reached 80 degrees a short time later. It is a beautiful day.
5:15 PM: Faint to light grass smoke. Nobody around us is burning yard waste. Somebody is. They could be blocks away. The smoke did not last more than a few minutes.
7:00 PM: No wood or grass smoke. Fresh air!
7:55 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. Somebody must be having a bonfire. I looked around. None of our immediate neighbors are having a fire. I could not see any smoke rising. It could be someone blocks away. Smoke travels quite a distance.
9:05 PM: Moderate wood smoke. It is very smoky outside! I hope the wood smoke is making its way to city council member Jan Walczak's house. She supports this horrible wood smoke pollution. 75 degrees at this time measured at North High School. This would be a very nice evening to have the windows open. But we cannot! It will probably be smoky all night long. The city of North St. Paul, MN, is a nightmare! You really cannot sit outside in wood smoke this strong. It is terrible. Your clothes will reek of smoke after a few minutes like they would if you spent several hours in a smoky bar. We are prisoners in our own home once again.
Passing through the city, I have noticed several homes being put up for sale in the past month or so. I hope anyone thinking of buying a home in this city does a little research on the internet and finds this blog. I would not want anyone else to make the same mistake we did by moving into this horrible town. If the air was smoky like this when we moved here, we never would have. Back then, the air was fresh every day. Now, living in North Saint Paul is like living in hell. Do not be lured by a good price on real estate. Smoky air every day is a nightmare. We have been lucky this spring with the rain and a few nice smoke-free days recently. But once we head into summer, it's wood smoke every evening with very few exceptions.
Living in North St. Paul is like living in hell!
11:00 PM: Moderately strong wood smoke continues. As does the misery of living in North St. Paul.
11:30 PM: Moderate wood smoke continues.