It was a normal smoky evening in North St. Paul. A beautiful evening ruined by wood and grass smoke pollution. We could not leave the windows open to cool the house tonight.
5:00 PM: No smoke. 83 degrees, sunny, and nice for August.
5:45 PM: Faint wood smoke coming in the windows for two or three minutes then it was gone.
6:00 PM: No smoke. Fresh air.
7:00 PM: No smoke.
8:00 PM: No smoke.
8:45 PM: Light wood smoke at this time. We had a feeling the air would be smoky tonight. That is the norm. What is unusual in North St. Paul is when the evening air isn't smoky. Fresh, unpolluted air is abnormal in this town. Close the windows! It is 79 degrees inside the house. The air temperature outside is cooling fast. It is cooler outside than it is inside but we cannot take advantage of it.
9:15 PM: Light wood and grass smoke. Wood burning and illegal yard waste burning. This is how North St. Paul is. There is no breeze. The smoke blankets the whole neighborhood.
10:00 PM: Light wood smoke continues.
11:00 PM: Light wood smoke continues. We have no chance to open the windows tonight before bed. We are stuck sleeping in a warm, stuffy house because of the city council of this horrible city.
You don't want to breathe smoky air in bed, do you? We don't.