We are prisoners trapped in a smoky hell called North St. Paul!
12:40 AM: Power outage. Just great! The air is still very smoky outside! We cannot open the windows! Now we are without electricity. That means no air conditioning. No fans. Nothing but warm, stuffy, sweaty darkness. Light to moderate wood smoke at this time. The air outside is still really smoky. You don't want this polluted air in your bedroom.
Thank you very much, North St. Paul. You made a typical nightmare evening in this hellish town all that much worse.
2:05 AM: Moderate wood smoke continues. The air outside is still very smoky. The air reeks. You will get sick to your stomach if you breathe this toxic, polluted air for more than a few minutes. The power is still out! When will this torture end?
3:06 AM: The electricity is back on! Finally, we can get the air conditioning running again. It is cool outside. The temperature must be in the mid 60s. But we still cannot open the windows because of the smoky air. Light to moderate wood smoke at this time.
10:30 AM: A very faint trace of wood smoke is in the air. Thank you, North St. Paul. Since I did not get to sleep until well after 3 AM, my whole morning is gone. After last night's marathon wood smoke pollution, it is not very nice to wake up and find wood smoke still in the air! Whoever was burning last night, and it was probably more than one household, left their wood to smolder all night.
12:30 PM: A very faint trace of wood smoke continues. I can smell it without any difficulty. It isn't much, and isn't enough to discourage me from having the windows open, but the air is unpleasant and unclean. A brief sprinkle of rain fell prior to this time. Drizzling rain continues. 71 degrees, cloudy, and I hope it rains tonight. I don't know if we can handle another night like last night.
Do you want to live in a city like this?
It rained most of the afternoon. The rain stopped around 5 PM. It is cool and damp. Will we get a break from the wood smoke tonight?
6:00 PM: No wood smoke. Sunny at this time. Around 62 degrees.
7:50 PM: A very faint trace of some type of smokiness is in the air. It could be a grill or a bonfire.
8:30 PM: No smoke in the air.
9:05 PM: A very faint trace of wood smoke is in the air. It isn't enough to require the windows to be closed. But I can smell it when I step outside.
9:20 PM: Very faint trace of wood smoke continues.
9:33 PM: Moderate wood smoke. It is very smoky outside! I was hoping we would catch a break from the wood smoke tonight after last night's intense air pollution. No such luck. There rarely is in North St. Paul. I hate this city. I wish I never lived here. This town is a nightmare! 62 degrees.
10:25 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. It varies in intensity with the breeze.
11:00 PM: Light wood smoke.
11:30 PM: Faint to light wood smoke.
11:50 PM: Moderate wood smoke. It's very smoky outside. As it was yesterday, we can smell wood smoke coming in with all the windows and doors closed! These houses in this area are 40 years old. There are bound to be hairline gaps and cracks where air infiltration can occur. I can smell wood smoke coming in around our windows and a spot in the basement foundation.
Tonight's onslaught of wood smoke pollution continued after midnight. According to city ordinance, recreational burning is supposed to cease at 11 PM. It never does and the city makes no effort to enforce it. But, do you want to breathe smoky air at 7 PM any more than you do at midnight or 3 AM? I don't. Smoky, polluted air is a nuisance and public health hazard no matter the time of day. Smoky, polluted air is a way of life in North St. Paul because of our four city council members who do not care about our health and wellbeing.