Bonfire burner complains about smoky air

Update:  I did find out the resident lives in the city of North St. Paul.  At the time I made this post the blogging service was suffering technical difficulties.  Here is a link to her original comment.

It was another smoky hell of a night last night in North St. Paul, MN.  The smoke pollution was brutally strong all night long.  The burning started before 5 PM and only got heavier as the evening progressed.  The smoke cleared enough to open the windows around 2:30 AM this morning.  Since I was up, I thought I would check my blog and visitor statistics.  I see some people coming from links on stories about a movement to ban recreational burning and the pollution it produces in Edina, MN.

For whatever reason, I am unable to respond to or comment on my own posts.  I guess the blogging service is having technical difficulties of some sort.  So in order to respond to a comment on a post I allow comments on, I have to start a new post and respond here.  Here goes.  The commenter writes (in blue) with my reply following:

I found this blog right after moving to North Saint Paul. At first, I thought you were a bit overzealous. But after the heat wave died down, I started smelling the wood smoke. About a month ago I started having asthma attacks. I haven't had an asthma attack since I was 8. I've had more in the last month than in my entire life up until moving here. I no longer think you're overzealous. I enjoy a bonfire once in a while, but not every night and I always put mine out... I don't leave them smoldering for hours and hours. It really is horrible with the thick smoke lingering in the air all the time.

Hi, Faylyn.  Thanks for your comment.  I accidentally deleted a few other comments because I pushed the wrong button.  I haven't been checking this blog often this year.

Do you live in the city of North St. Paul or on the north side of the city of St. Paul?  I wish the founders of North St. Paul had chosen a more unique name for the city because it creates a lot of confusion.

I always get a kick out of receiving comments or emails from bonfire burners who complain about other people's burning.  That holier-than-thou wood burner stuff doesn't work with me.  All burning produces smoke.  Some are under the impression that if only "clean, dry wood" is burned it will be smokeless.  It isn't.  I imagine you never gave much consideration to the impact your burning has on others around you.  When people have bonfires, they position themselves so the smoke blows away from them.  But in a dense residential neighborhood, that smoke is blowing into somebody else's yard, and into their lungs and homes if they have their windows open.  Maybe some of your neighbors have asthma as you do.  Or maybe they want to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air or have their windows open so the breeze blows through their house, but they can't do that because of your burning.  Please think of that next time you consider having a bonfire.  I suppose in a way you are getting a taste of your own medicine with your asthma problems.  Karma.

People don't seem to realize how far wood smoke travels from the source.  With a gentle, steady breeze, the smoke from a small bonfire can be a nuisance as far as a half mile away.  I never bothered to track it farther than that.  The smoke blows wherever the wind takes it.  Without a breeze, the smoke from one bonfire can blanket an entire neighborhood.

Living in the middle of a square mile of residential homes, there is someone burning every night when the weather is nice.  Usually there are multiple homes burning within a quarter mile radius of us.  That is why our air is always smoky and why I have been complaining about it for 5 years now.

North St. Paul was a great place to live in the late 1990s.  Back then there were never any bonfires.  Yard waste burning was rare as well.  We never once had to close our windows because of smoke.  That all changed starting in the early 2000s.  It grew worse with every year.  By 2006 or 2007 the air was smoky every night when the weather was nice with almost no exceptions and yard waste burning which was infrequent became common.  It's like living in hell.  We dread coming home.  Maybe we will get a few hours of fresh air before the smoke starts.  Or like last night, it might start before 5 PM and be heavy all night long.

North St. Paul's air quality is not getting any better.  Every year there are more of those metal firepits and outdoor furnaces.  The burning encourages only more burning.  If the air is going to be smoky every night anyway, why not contribute to it?

While most homes do not burn, I have noticed that the burners tend to cluster together.  I think some of the burners are burning out of vengeance.  One person has a smoky bonfire one night, the next night a neighbor burns yard waste, the next night another neighbor has a smoky bonfire, and so on.  It's a cycle of disrespect that leads to decay and tears apart the social fabric of the city.

There are other problems with North St. Paul.  Next to the city's nightly smoke pollution, two other problems are the conversion of residential homes into rental properties and a lack of home maintenance.  Rundown properties are everywhere you look.  It's shocking to see how formerly well-maintained properties are becoming rundown.  It's almost like people don't care any more.  Being a good neighbor is no longer a consideration people have these days.  That is why they don't concern themselves with blasting their neighbors with thick clouds of smoke pollution.

If you live in the city of North St. Paul and are concerned about this city's smoke pollution problem, I strongly suggest you write a letter detailing your concerns and your issues with asthma and send copies to the mayor and each of the idiot city council members.  They are the only ones with the power to do something about it.  Don't expect much action to be taken.  While the mayor did express some sympathy about this city's wood smoke pollution problem back in 2009, the city council has stood strong in its support of burning and the smoke pollution it produces.  But it never hurts to have one more person complaining.  The only way anything will ever get done is if enough people complain.

But you must also consider the impact that your burning has on those around you, even those living a quarter mile away or more who are breathing the smoke your bonfires produce.  Nobody around you – and I mean NOBODY! – wants to breathe your smoke.  Nobody would choose to breathe your smoke when they could enjoy fresh air.  Nobody closes their windows on beautiful evenings or runs their air conditioner on cool summer nights because they want to.  They do it because they cannot stand to breathe the smoke pollution people like you produce.  Please remember that.

Another brutal, smoky hell of a night. 14 hours of smoke in the air and counting!

It was another brutal, smoky hell of a night here in North St. Paul, MN.  It is 6 AM as I write this and the air is still too smoky to open the windows.  One or more of last night's burners left their wood smoldering all night long.  This is common for weekends and happens sometimes during the week as well.  I can go out for a walk on a Sunday morning and find smoldering bonfires all over without even trying to look for them.

One of the area yard waste burners started burning yard waste before 4 PM.  I don't know what time he started, but his burning was going strong at 4 PM.  His yard waste smoke came and went with the breeze and was heavy at times, so we could not open the windows.  Within an hour or so asshole frequent burner started burning.  It's not even 5:30 PM and two homes in the area are producing huge clouds of smoke.  The smoke only got heavier as the night went on as bonfires started.  By nightfall the smoke pollution was off the charts.  The smoke was so heavy you could not stand to breathe the air.  With smoke this heavy, you step outside for 30 seconds and your clothes reek of smoke so badly you need to change.  A couple minutes of breathing air this polluted leaves your sinuses burning.  Your lungs resist your attempts to inhale in an effort to protect your body against the heavy pollution.

It's been 14 hours of nearly constant smoky air as I write this.  Maybe in a couple of hours we will be able to open the windows and enjoy a few hours of fresh air before the burning starts again.  If we are lucky.

If the air isn't smoky at night, that is unusual in North St. Paul.  The smoke pollution isn't limited to our area, it is all over the city.  North St. Paul is like a giant campground with bonfires burning all over the place.  When you find one smoky area, you will not have to go more than a tenth or two-tenths of a mile to find another home that is burning.  Sometimes several homes on a block are burning at the same time.

None of our neighbors burn.  The smoke blows in from down the street or burners a quarter mile away or more.  The smoke goes wherever the wind takes it.  If the smoke is heavy a distance away, how heavy must it be for the poor souls living next door to the burner?

I first started complaining to the city about the smoke pollution in spring of 2008.  I have had no contact with anyone from City Hall since fall 2009.  The city will not do anything about the heavy pollution that has been plaguing our city for the better part of ten years now.

The smoke isn't the only problem in North St. Paul.  The whole city is going to shit.  Rundown properties are everywhere you look.  You might think the homes are vacant, but they are not.  The homeowners just don't care anymore and don't bother to maintain their properties.  North St. Paul's schools are not good either.  If good schools are important to you, buy a home in another city.

Do you want to live in a city like this? North St. Paul is a horrible place to live. If you buy a home in this city you will regret it!  You will curse the day you moved to North St. Paul, MN.  Take it from someone who knows.  North St. Paul sucks!

North St. Paul is hell on earth.  You have been warned.

Update:  The wood smoke cleared enough to open the windows at 7:30 AM making fifteen-and-a-half hours we had to keep the windows closed.  There was very little breeze this morning when I went for a walk.  I found one smoldering bonfire a tenth of a mile to the northeast and another smoldering bonfire a quarter mile due west.

Arrests Made In North St. Paul

Here is a handy tool to find out all the people who have been arrested in the city of North St. Paul, MN.  Sometimes we do find people living near us on the bookings list. 

North St. Paul Arrests

The website lists the jail bookings for Ramsey County.  To limit the search results to those criminals arrested for crimes in North St. Paul, select "North St Paul" from the box at the bottom that says "Search by arrest city".  The arrested's name, date of birth, city of residence, and booking charge are listed for arrests made by the North St. Paul Police Department only.  It looks like most of the people arrested in North St. Paul do not live here.

I was disappointed to see seven people arrested for prostitution on May 16, 2012.  All seven people were arrested at an apartment building located at 2061 McKnight Rd., North St. Paul, MN.  I suspect that a prostitution ring was being run out of the apartment.  Four or five of the arrested were female, likely the hookers.  Two men were arrested, likely the pimps.  I cannot determine a gender based on the name of one of the arrested.  All the suspects on the booking list are over the age of 18.  If any juveniles were arrested their names would not be available to the public.

Crime Reports Map

I found a handy website that lists locations and categories of crime reports.  As of this writing, North St. Paul is not among the cities represented.  Maplewood and White Bear Lake are.  As Maplewood envelopes the city of North St. Paul on three sides, it is informative to know what is going on around us.  If neighboring cities are included on the crime reports website, it may only be a matter of time until North St. Paul's crime reports are included.  I hope the North St. Paul Police Department will make the data available.

You must have Flash enabled to view the website.

Crime Reports Map

Updates coming with a new direction for the blog

It's another brutal night of heavy wood smoke pollution in North St. Paul.  It is almost 4:30 AM as I write this and the air is so smoky there will be no chance of opening the windows for hours.  Again we are forced to live as prisoners in our own home.  After a long heat wave, temperatures have dropped to a point where the windows can be opened again.  As always in North St. Paul, MN, when the weather is nice the air is too smoky to breathe.  North St. Paul is hell on earth.

Maybe the air will be clear enough by 6 or 7 AM to finally open the windows and get some fresh air in the house.  Maybe the bonfires will smolder until long after sunrise.  Maybe we will get 10 or 12 hours of fresh air before the burning starts again.  Maybe we will not.

It's been two months since my last update.  With this summer's above normal temperatures there has been much less burning than normal.  High heat and humidity is not only a deterrent for bonfire burners, but for yard waste burners as well.  When this blog is not updated regularly, my readership drops.  The visitors that drop the most are from search engines like Google and Yahoo.  I want more people reading about this shitty city, not less.  So after years of deliberation I have decided to expand the scope of this blog.


The reason this blog was started in spring 2008 was to serve as a public document of the heavy wood smoke pollution we endure.  I honestly thought the stupid assholes who run this city (Jan Walczak, Bob Bruton, Terry Furlong) would do something about it.  I was wrong.  My intent was never to bash the city of North St. Paul or the stupid assholes on the city council.  I just wanted people to know the daily hell we experience as residents of this once nice city, especially prospective home buyers who will have no idea what they are getting into.  Would you want to invest $150,000 or more in a home and breathe smoky air every evening?

The wood smoke problem isn't limited to our neck of the woods (as some emailers try to tell me).  It is all over the city.  I can go for a ride on a Friday or Saturday evening and find patches of wood smoke all over the place, in the northern section of the city where we live and in the southern portion of the city, and when I find one smoky area I can find another within a block or two. 

North St. Paul was once a wonderful place to live.  As recently as the late 1990s or very early 2000s, North St. Paul was nice.  Then the wood smoke pollution started.  Then by 2005 or 2006 it became nearly an every day thing.  As the bonfire burning picked up, the yard waste burning gained in popularity as well. 

North St. Paul is going to hell rapidly.  The nightly wood smoke pollution is just a symptom of a greater underlying disease.  Parks are neglected.  Streets look terrible with patches of asphalt filling potholes.  Properties are not being maintained.  Residential homes are turning into rentals.  There is no respect for one's neighbors (as the wood burners demonstrate) and very few homeowners are taking pride in their properties these days.    

On my walks this summer and last, I was astounded by how many homes and yards are not being maintained.  Driveways crumbling and sagging into the soil.  Homes and garages in dire need of a fresh coat of paint, with the existing paint peeling off all over.  Vandalized mailboxes not being repaired or replaced.  On some blocks there are few homes with nice yards, with most of the yards consisting entirely of crabgrass.

I have passed by homes that at one time had nice yards.  I have seen the decorative plantings that have been allowed to grow wild and have become infiltrated with weeds.  I've seen yards with hardly a trace of normal grass, that are filled with crabgrass, weeds, dandelions, and clover.  On some blocks, a majority of properties are like this.  There is a block on 2nd St. N. between 17th Ave. and 19th Ave. that has only one home on it that I would call well maintained.  That entire block is an eyesore.

There is a house over by Poplar/Swan that once was a stately home.  I would not go so far as to call it a mansion, but it may be the most expensive home in the city.  It, too, is falling into disrepair.  I cannot think of the type of homeowner who would spend almost $1 million to buy a property and not perform necessary maintenance to keep the property looking nice.  The driveway is all cracked up.  The pickets on the fence are damaged with peeling paint.  The shrubbery growing behind the fence looks like it is both growing wild and dying.  The grass looks terrible.  You would think that a homeowner who pays more than $11,000 a year in property tax would spend a little money to keep the property maintained.  Not in North St. Paul.

So I have decided to expand the scope of this blog to include documentation of the decay taking place all around.  I'm not interested in becoming a City Hall watchdog.  To be frank, I couldn't stomach researching the stupidity that has come out of City Hall the past few years.  When the city leadership should be working on the issues harming our quality of life like the nightly wood smoke pollution, our city leaders have been concocting schemes to spend money this city does not have.  First there was the fiber optic internet system in 2009 that was estimated to cost in the neighborhood of $20 million.  Had that system been installed and failed, it could have bankrupted the city.  Then last year we had the crazy scheme from our city leaders to spend millions of dollars to make streets narrower and to put in drainage ditch rain gardens and sidewalks where they are neither needed nor wanted.  Both of these schemes were met with resounding opposition from the citizens of North St. Paul and the plans were abandoned.

I am going to focus on things that make North St. Paul a horrible place to live.  I will continue to document the nightly wood smoke pollution.  But I intended to do more like publish photographs of the big clouds of smoke produced by bonfire and yard waste burners.  Pictures of yards carpeted with weeds, retaining walls bulging, rundown homes, and things like that.  Next time I see a living room chair dumped in a city park like I did last fall, I hope I have a camera with me.

Anybody considering buying real estate in North St. Paul should be aware of the rapid decline of the city.  North St. Paul is not going to get any better.  It is only going to get worse.  Buyer beware.

Saturday 06/09/2012 Air Pollution

It was another smoky night in North St. Paul.  The heat made for a less smoky Saturday night than we have been having recently.

5:15 PM:  No smoke.  91 degrees, sunny, a little windy.

7:45 PM:  No smoke yet.

9:00 PM:  No smoke.

10:00 PM:  Light wood smoke

Midnight:  Light to moderate wood smoke.

The air was fresh when I woke at 6 AM Sunday morning. 

Friday 06/08/2012 Air Pollution

It may have been a miracle tonight.  There was no wood or yard waste smoke up to the time I went to bed.  But with the burning often starting after 11:30 PM, I can't say if there was burning after I went to bed at 10:45 PM.  I woke after 3 AM and checked the air on my way back to bed.  It was clear.  The temperature was 89 degrees at 5 PM.  It was warm but not uncomfortable.  The temperature was 85 degrees in the Twin Cities at 9:45 PM.  It was warm but not too warm for burning.  Recreational burning does not happen much when the evening temperature is in the upper 80s or above.

Thursday 06/07/2012 Air Pollution

More late night burning tonight with the burning of what smelled like tree branches after 11:30 PM.  Had I not gotten out of bed and checked the air on the way back I would not have noticed it.

5:00 PM:  No smoke.

6:00 PM:  No smoke.  82 degrees.

9:00 PM:  No smoke yet.

10:45 PM:  There is some strange type of smell in the air.  I don't know what it is.  Off to bed.

11:45 PM:  Faint wood or yard waste smoke.  It smells like burning tree branches.  Who knows what it is.  If it is combustible, it gets burned in North St. Paul.  If the windows were open they would need to be closed.

Midnight:  Faint smoke continues.

Wednesday 06/06/2012 Air Pollution

There was no smoke tonight because of rain.  The temperature was 81 degrees at 5 PM under a mostly cloudy sky.  There was a short sprinkle of rain around 6:40 PM with light rain coming down at 7 PM.  After 7:30 PM the sun was shining through the rain producing a rainbow in the eastern sky. 

Tuesday 06/05/2012 Air Pollution

Another smoky night with some yard waste burning.

5:00 PM:  No smoke.  82 degrees.

6:00 PM:  No smoke.

7:00 PM:  No smoke.

8:00 PM:  No smoke.

8:12 PM:  Light grass smoke.  There is an illegal yard waste burner out there somewhere.

8:15 PM:  Light to moderate wood and grass smoke.  The burner may be burning tree branches with the grass or raking the grass into a firepit.  That happens often.  People start a bonfire and rake their grass clippings into it.

8:27 PM:  Light to moderate grass smoke.

8:50 PM:  Light to moderate grass and wood smoke.

9:30 PM:  The air is mostly clear but not fresh.

10:35 PM:  No smoke.  Last check of the evening.

Monday 06/04/2012 Air Pollution

It was a miracle!  There was no wood or yard waste smoke in the air tonight.  Up to the point I went to bed anyway.  There is a trend with late night burning starting around 11:30 PM.  I don't know what happened after that.

It was 82 degrees and sunny at 5 PM with a little breeze.  The sky was cloudy after 7 PM with gray clouds that looked as if they might produce rain but did not. 

It was a nice evening for those who like clean air.

Sunday 06/03/2012 Air Pollution

It smells like waste being burned after midnight this morning.  Smells like particle board is being burned.  The horrible smoke from whatever was being burned lasted most of the morning hours.

1:30 AM:  Strong smoke from what smells like burning waste.  It smells like particle board being burned.  Particle board is sawdust and a glue binder pressed into sheets.  I don't know what waste is being burned.  But regular wood logs are not being burned at this time. 

Will this hell ever end?  I woke up with a headache and a sick feeling.  I feel hungover from all the wood smoke pollution.  It's something terrible.  You can't imagine it until you've lived it.

4:15 AM:  Light to moderate waste smoke continues.  Still smells like particle board being burned.

7:20 AM:  A very faint waste smoke continues.  The North St. Paul hell never ends!

10:30 AM:  Very faint wood smoke in the front yard, nothing in the back.  Not much.  Enough to smell it.

12:00 PM:  Very faint wood smoke in the front yard, nothing in the back.

1:35 PM:  Very faint wood smoke in the back yard now.

4:30 PM:  No smoke.  Cloudy, 73 degrees.

6:00 PM:  No smoke.  74 degrees, sunny again.

6:25 PM:  A very faint smoke of some type is in the air.  It does not smell like a grill.

7:30 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke.  There it is.  We relive the North St. Paul nightmare every night.

8:30 PM:  No real smoke in the air but it is not fresh.

10:00 PM:  Moderate wood smoke.  Another evening of heavy wood smoke pollution in North St. Paul!

11:00 PM:  Moderate wood smoke continues.

Midnight:  Very faint wood smoke lingers in the air.

Saturday 06/02/2012 Air Pollution

It was a long, brutal hell of a smoky night in North St. Paul.  The smoke was off the charts.  The smoke was seeping in with the windows closed.  It wasn't just smoky in our area.  It was smoky all over the northern section of North St. Paul.  There were bonfires and smoky air all over.  I woke up with a headache and a sick feeling tonight.  I think the heavy wood smoke pollution caused it.

North St. Paul's air is dangerous to your health.  North St. Paul, MN, is a horrible place to live.
 
4:05 PM:  Light wood smoke coming and going from asshole frequent burner.  He's burning again.  74 degrees, sunny, breezy.

4:30 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke varying with the wind. 

4:45 PM:  Moderate wood smoke from the asshole frequent burner.  As heavy as it is here, I cannot begin to imagine how heavy it must be living next door with his huge clouds of smoke blowing right at your home.

5:00 PM:  The wood smoke varies in intensity as it comes and goes on the wind.

6:35 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke from the asshole frequent burner continues.

7:15 PM:  Very faint wood smoke where we are.

9:00 PM:  Strong wood smoke.  This smoke is extremely heavy.  It is unhealthy and inhumane!  You cannot stand to breathe this heavily polluted North St. Paul air.  Even with all the windows closed the heavy pollution is seeping into the house.  These older homes are not airtight.  There are little gaps and cracks where the smoke pollution comes in.  This is torture!

10:00 PM:  Strong wood smoke continues.  This makes six hours of smoky air already this evening.  The night is young.  There is much more to come.

11:00 PM:  Strong wood smoke continues.  I went to bed at this time.

The heavy wood smoke continued well after midnight with smoke lingering in the air all morning.


The wood smoke was so heavy I woke up after 1 AM  with a headache and a sick feeling.  It's like a hangover from the heavy North St. Paul air pollution.  I do not get headaches often.  I don't know what else made me feel sick other than the extremely heavy wood smoke pollution.  It's awful beyond words.  North St. Paul used to be such a nice place to live.  Now it is hell on earth!  North St. Paul sucks!

Friday 06/01/2012 Air Pollution

Peak burning season has arrived.  Without rain, there will be smoke in the air almost every evening until fall.  It was a long, smoky night in North St. Paul.  It gets much worse than this.

3:15 PM:  Very faint grass smoke coming in the windows and ruining what was a beautiful afternoon.  69 degrees and beautiful except for the yard waste smoke.

3:50 PM:  Faint grass smoke.  The illegal yard waste burner has caused the windows to be closed.  Thanks, asshole, wherever you are.

4:30 PM:  No smoke.  I saw that asshole frequent burner was burning as I was heading back home.  Maybe he could have been the source of the illegal yard waste burning an hour earlier.  Or it could have been someone else.  There are more people burning yard waste in North St. Paul now than there was ten years ago.  Burning encourages more burning. 

5:00 PM:  Moderate wood smoke from the asshole frequent burner.  The wind shifted and we get to breathe polluted air.  North St. Paul sucks!

6:05 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke from asshole frequent burner.  The wood he burns has a distinctive smell unlike wood burned by anyone else.  I don't even need to drive behind his house to know when he burns.  If the wind is right it comes down here into our windows and into our lungs.

7:25 PM:  No smoke.  The wind must have shifted again.  Asshole frequent burner usually burns from three to five hours at a time.  I would say he is still burning.

 8:40 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke different from before.  This is the more typical smoke produced by bonfires.  The bonfires are starting now.   Asshole frequent burner burns early and by the time his wood smolders itself out is when the other bonfire burners start burning.

9:45 PM:  There is a very faint trace of wood smoke in the air.  The wind must have shifted again giving us a temporary break from the toxic poison air in North St. Paul.  I can hear loud voices off in the distance.  Sounds like a party.  They may be doing the burning.

11:40 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke.  Smoky air is back.

This is how we live in North St. Paul.  Do you want to live in a city like this?

Thursday 05/31/2012 Air Pollution

It was another very smoky night in North St. Paul. 

5:00 PM:  No smoke.  65 degrees.

8:30 PM:  No smoke yet.

9:00 PM:  No smoke.

9:30 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke.  The air is good and smoky.  If you like breathing smoky, polluted air, you are going to love North St. Paul.  You will breathe more wood smoke pollution in one summer than most people will during their entire lifetimes.

9:55 PM:  Moderate wood smoke.  It is very smoky outside.  You do not want to breathe this toxic North St. Paul air if you can avoid it.  59 degrees.  There is not much of a breeze to blow the smoke away.  The wood smoke pollution saturates the entire area.

10:50 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke continues.

11:30 PM:  Faint to light wood smoke continues.

You can see why we can never go to bed with the windows open and why everyone around here has to pay to run their air conditioners on cool summer nights.

Wednesday 05/30/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening.  It was cool.  Not many bonfires take place when it is cool like this.  It was 59 degrees and cloudy at 6 PM.  It was a nice night if you like breathing clean air.

Tuesday 05/29/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke tonight.  It was a cool night.  There are not many bonfires when the temperature is this cool.  It was 62 degrees at 7 PM.  It was 56 degrees around 10 PM with the weather forecast calling for rain. 

Monday 05/28/2012 Air Pollution

I don't know if we witnessed a miracle tonight or not.  There was no wood smoke in the air up to 10 PM when I went to bed.  But with the trend of burning starting after 11 PM who knows.  The temperature at 7 PM was 74 degrees and it was sunny and windy.

Sunday 05/27/2012 Air Pollution

Some burning grass this evening but no wood smoke due to unfavorable weather conditions.  The only thing that saves us from heavy air pollution in this nightmare town is bad weather.

6:00 PM:  No smoke yet.  Nice to enjoy some fresh air for a while.  You don't get much fresh air in North St. Paul.  90 degrees.  Starting to get cloudy.  A chance of a thunderstorm is in the weather forecast for later tonight.

6:50 PM:  Light grass smoke at this time.  There is an illegal yard waste burner out there somewhere.

8:00 PM:  No smoke.  A sprinkle of rain fell for a few minutes then moved out.

8:30 PM:  No smoke.  The sound of rumbling thunder can be heard in the clouds.

There was no more smoke this evening.

Saturday 05/26/2012 Air Pollution

Heavy wood smoke from the prior night's burning lasted well into the morning hours.  Fortunately for all of us in this neighborhood, rain prevented the nightly burning from happening tonight.  We were spared heavy air pollution because of the good graces of mother nature. 

1:00 AM:  Moderate wood smoke continues.  The air is much too smoky to open the windows any time soon.

2:00 AM:  Light wood smoke continues.  The burner is letting their wood smolder all night long.  Isn't that nice?  It happens all the time in North St. Paul.  I can go out for a walk on a Saturday or Sunday morning and find several areas where bonfires were left smoldering all night along my walking path.  Sometimes the unattended smoldering bonfires continue to produce visible smoke.  Fire safety isn't a concern of most of the asshole wood burners in this horrible city.

6:30 AM:  The air is not fresh.  Some type of pollutant lingers in the air, likely from the fire left smoldering all night long. 

There was no wood smoke this evening.  It was cool and it rained off and on during the day.  We had a thunderstorm around 10 AM that left the ground and all the wood that would have otherwise been burned wet.  It was 63 degrees and cloudy at 6 PM with a chance of more rain in the forecast. 

After last night's brutal wood smoke pollution we deserved a night of fresh air!

Friday 05/25/2012 Air Pollution

Extremely heavy wood smoke tonight.  The air was so heavily polluted you could not stand to breathe it!  It was so smoky you could smell the smoke seeping into the house with all the windows closed.  Living in North St. Paul is like living in hell.  Not uncharacteristic of a weekend night in North St. Paul.  Or any other night.

5:00 PM:  No smoke.  68 degrees, cloudy, with rain forecast for late tonight.

5:35 PM:  Moderately strong wood smoke coming and going on the wind.  We are enduring bursts of very smoky air.  Asshole frequent burner is burning again.  This stupid city allows him to burn seven days a week.  He takes advantage of it as much as he wants.  Tonight everyone around here is paying the price.

7:00 PM:  Moderate wood smoke continues.

8:00 PM:  No smoke at this time.  It comes and goes on the wind.  It will be back when the wind shifts.

9:00 PM:  Light wood smoke.

10:00 PM:  Strong wood smoke.  The air is so polluted it is a serious health hazard!  You can't stand to breathe this air.  Your lungs resist your efforts to draw in air when the smoke is this heavy, which is common in North St. Paul, MN.

11:25 PM:  Strong wood smoke continues.  We have endured about six hours of heavy wood smoke in the air coming and going this evening.  It is going to be a long and smoky night.  North St. Paul is hell on earth!

Do you want to live in a city like this?

Thursday 05/24/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening due to unfavorable weather conditions.  The ground was wet from heavy rain in the morning.  It was a little on the cool side with a temperature of 60 degrees at 6 PM.  There are not many bonfires when the temperature is this cool.

Wednesday 05/23/2012 Air Pollution

Three was no wood smoke this evening due to storms coming into the Twin Cities and a brief rain shower around 7 PM.  It rained for a few minutes then stopped.  Fresh air we will take any way we can get it in this town.  87 degrees and cloudy at 6:15 PM with storms moving toward the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.

Tuesday 05/22/2012 Air Pollution

More late night burning in North St. Paul.  I don't know who is doing it as no one around us is burning, but someone likes to start burning late this year, usually after 11 PM when recreational burning is no longer allowed.  People don't follow the rules and they are not going to.  The city of North St. Paul has published warnings about illegal yard waste burning in the city newsletter the past three years with no effect on the amount of yard waste burning.  As long as the city allows burning, people are going to be burning anything they can get their hands on at all hours of the night.

6:00 PM:  No smoke.  84 degrees, sunny, and windy. 

9:45 PM:  No smoke.  Fresh air!  There has been no yard waste or wood burning up to this point.

10:30 PM:  The air is not fresh at this time.  There is a trace amount of something in it.

11:45 PM:  Very faint to faint wood smoke coming in on the wind.  Someone has a bonfire going late.  Still breezy at this time.  The smoke can be smelled more from the front of the house than in the back.

Monday 05/21/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke in the air this evening that I noticed.  But with the trend of burning starting after 11:30 PM, there could have been some late night burning I was not awake to notice.  It was 72 degrees and sunny at 8:15 PM.  There was a motor vehicle exhaust smell in the air by 8:30 PM.  No wood smoke.

Sunday 05/20/2012 Air Pollution

More late night burning in North St. Paul, MN.  This happens often and is why we can never open the windows before bedtime.

3:00 PM:  Faint to light wood smoke coming in on the wind.  54 degrees, cloudy, windy.

6:30 PM:  No smoke.  61 degrees, sunny.

8:30 PM:  There is a light something in the air that smells like motor vehicle exhaust fumes.  I don't know what it is.  It could be exhaust fumes or somebody could be burning waste.

10:30 PM:  A light pollutant of some type that smells like exhaust fumes continues.

11:45 PM:  Faint wood smoke.  I don't know why anyone would start using a fireplace at this late hour on a Sunday night.  My guess is that someone has a bonfire going or is preparing to burn waste.  There is someone around somewhere who likes burning waste on Sunday nights.

Saturday 05/19/2012 Air Pollution

1:00 AM:  The air is not fresh at this time.  75 degrees.

1:15 AM:  A very faint trace of wood smoke is in the air at this time from distant burning.

2:30 AM:  A very faint trace of wood smoke continues.

4:30 PM:  No smoke here.  Asshole frequent burner is burning at this time, producing big clouds of smoke.  We can't smell it down here.  Lucky for us.  82 degrees, cloudy.

5:15 PM:  The air is not fresh.  Not smoky, not fresh.  Some type of pollutant is in the air.

5:55 PM:  No smoke.  A severe thunderstorm warning was declared for the Twin Cities area.

7:12 PM:  No smoke.  Rain starting to fall.

There was no smoke for the duration of this evening.  Saved by the rain.

Friday 05/18/2012 Air Pollution

The weather forecast called for a chance of a thunderstorm tonight.  That may be the reason we had less wood smoke in the air than normal for a Friday night.

5:00 PM:  No smoke.  92 degrees, sunny, beautiful.

9:35 PM:  Faint wood smoke in the air at this time.  There was no smoke prior to this check of the air quality.  86 degrees in the Twin Cities.

9:54 PM:  Very faint wood smoke coming and going on the breeze at this time.  A rumble of thunder was heard.

11:00 PM:  No smoke.

There was a little wood smoke in the air well after midnight. 

Thursday 05/17/2012 Air Pollution

7:20 PM:  No smoke yet.  Enjoying that fresh air.  82 degrees, sunny, very nice.

8:45 PM:  Faint wood smoke.  There it is.  Somebody is burning every night in the area. 

9:10 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke varying with the breeze with two different types of smoke coming from different directions.  The smoke smells like one type of wood with the breeze coming from the east and a different type when it comes in from the south.  There are at least two bonfires in the area somewhere.

9:50 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke continues.  It's smoky outside.  Can't open the windows.

11:30 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke continues varying with the wind.  There is no chance of opening the windows tonight. 

Wednesday 05/16/2012 Air Pollution

3:40 PM:  Faint grass and wood smoke around this time.  Someone is illegally burning yard waste.  Happens all the time.

4:00 PM:  No smoke.

5:00 PM:  No smoke.  68 degrees, sunny.

5:30 PM:  A very faint trace of some type of smoke is in the air.  I don't know what it is.  It does not smell like a grill.

6:30 PM:  A very faint trace of some unknown type of smoke continues.

7:30 PM:  A very faint trace of something continues.

9:00 PM:  A very faint trace of some unknown smoke continues.

10:00 PM:  The air is clear.

There was no more smoke for this evening.

Tuesday 05/15/2012 Air Pollution

Another evening with wood smoke in the air. 

5:15 PM:  No smoke.  73 degrees, sunny and windy.

6:40 PM:  Light wood smoke coming and going.  The smoke seems to be coming out of the east.  Windy at this time.

7:00 PM:  No smoke.

7:50 PM:  Very faint wood smoke.

There was no more wood smoke this evening that I noticed.

Monday 05/14/2012 Air Pollution

It's another smoky evening in North St. Paul.  As usual.

4:30 PM:  Faint wood smoke coming and going.  Breezy, 83 degrees, sunny and beautiful.

5:00 PM:  Faint wood and grass smoke.  Some illegal yard waste burner probably started a bonfire and is raking their grass clippings into the firepit.  This happens all the time in North St. Paul.  84 degrees.

6:19 PM:  A very faint trace of wood smoke lingers.

8:00 PM:  The air is not fresh.  Something undetectable is in it.

9:20 PM:  Not fresh air continues.

10:00 PM:  Not fresh air continues.

10:20 PM:  Faint to light wood smoke.  The bonfires are starting a little late this evening.

10:27 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke.  It's getting heavier.  Pretty smoky outside right now.  Breathing this air is uncomfortable and unpleasant.

10:29 PM:  Moderate wood smoke.  Very smoky air right now.  78 degrees outside.

10:50 PM:  The air is not fresh.  Something is in it but most of the wood smoke is gone for now.  There is no breeze at this time.  Last check of the evening.

Sunday 05/13/2012 Air Pollution

Heavy smoke from last night's burning lasted well into the morning hours.  Then we had more wood smoke this evening.  This is how you can expect to live if you make the mistake of buying a house in North St. Paul, MN.  It's been like this for years and there is no end in sight.

12:15 AM:  Strong wood smoke continues. 

1:00 AM:  Moderate to strong wood smoke.  The smoke pollution is finally waning.

2:45 AM:  Faint to light wood smoke.

5:00 AM:  Light wood smoke.  

A very faint smoldering smokiness lingered in the air most of the morning. 

1:35 PM:  A faint wood smoke is coming in on the wind and lasted for a few hours.

4:15 PM:  Very faint wood smoke continues. 

5:20 PM:  Very faint wood smoke coming in on the breeze out of the south.

6:15 PM:  A faint smoke of some type is in the air.  75 degrees, sunny, and beautiful if not for the smoke pollution in the air.

7:25 PM:  Very faint to faint smoke of some undetermined type.

8:38 PM:  Faint wood smoke.  The nightly bonfires are starting. 

9:00 PM:  Light wood smoke.  Wood smoke is getting heavier.

9:10 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke.  Heavier still.

9:38 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke and possibly grass smoke.  The smoke smells strange.  Nobody around us is burning.

11:00 PM:  No smoke.  I can't explain the absence of the wood smoke pollution.  But I'm glad it is gone for now.

There was no more wood smoke for the rest of the night.

Saturday 05/12/2012 Air Pollution

Another North St. Paul nightmare from hell!  Yard waste smoke all afternoon with extremely heavy wood smoke at night.  This is normal in North St. Paul.

1:15 PM:  Faint to light wood and grass smoke coming in the windows.  Close the windows.  64 degrees, sunny.

1:37 PM:  Light wood smoke.

2:45 PM:  Faint to light wood smoke coming and going on the wind.

3:05 PM:  Faint to light wood and grass smoke continues.

3:15 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke.  The smoke pollution is getting heavier.  Just what we need.

4:45 PM:  Light wood smoke continues.  67 degrees, sunny and breezy.

6:00 PM:  No smoke.  The fresh air will not last long.  69 degrees, sunny, and beautiful.  Another beautiful evening soon to be spoiled by North St. Paul's nightly wood smoke pollution.

6:10 PM:  Faint lighter fluid smell on the breeze.  Asshole frequent burner must be preparing his pile of wood for burning.

6:45 PM:  A very faint smoke of some type is in the air.  I don't know what it is.

7:50 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke.  Very smoky air at this time.  No chance of having the windows open this evening.

8:55 PM:  Moderate to strong wood smoke.  Extremely smoky air at this time.  You cannot stand to breathe this air.  North St. Paul sucks!

9:15 PM:  Strong wood smoke.  This is about as heavy as wood smoke pollution can get.  With all the windows closed tight the smoke still makes its way into the house.

10:00 PM:  Strong wood smoke continues.  This smoke is even stronger than before!  I would have to add another category to describe how heavy this smoke is.  The wood smoke is off the charts.

11:00 PM:  Strong wood smoke continues.

The air was still smoky at 5 AM the next morning.  Do you want to live in a city like this?

Friday 05/11/2012 Air Pollution

Home today to experience some burning in the early afternoon.  I wonder how often this happens.

1:30 PM:  Light wood and possibly grass smoke coming in on the wind.  It is windy at this time.  Close windows.

2:45 PM:  Faint wood and grass smoke.

3:05 PM:  Light wood smoke on the wind.  There is a chance of rain in the weather forecast.  Someone may be burning yard waste ahead of the rain. 

5:00 PM:  No smoke.  67 degrees, cloudy.

6:50 PM:  No smoke.  A little rain drizzle is falling at this time.

8:00 PM:  No smoke.  Drizzling rain.

9:00 PM:  No smoke.  Drizzling rain continues.

There was no more smoke pollution this evening.

Thursday 05/10/2012 Air Pollution

Heavy wood smoke from the prior evening's burning continued well after midnight.  Then we were treated to more heavy smoke pollution this evening.

Do you want to live in a city like this?

12:30 AM:  Moderate to strong wood smoke continues.

2:00 AM:  Moderate wood smoke.  The smoke pollution is starting to decrease.  The burners must have went inside and left the fire to burn itself out so it smolders all night long.

4:30 AM:  A faint to light smoldering wood smoke lingers in the air.

The air was clear when I woke this morning.

5:15 PM:  No smoke.  Sunny, breezy, 73 degrees and beautiful.

7:00 PM:  No smoke.  Fresh air.  It won't last.

8:25 PM:  Strong wood smoke.  I don't know who is burning.  With the smoke extremely heavy like this the burner must not be far.  I stepped outside for a minute and looked around to find nobody around us burning.  My clothes reeked of wood smoke from being outside a short time.

8:45 PM:  No smoke.  The breeze must have shifted direction. 

There was no more wood smoke for the rest of the night.

Wednesday 05/09/2012 Air Pollution

Late night burning produced some heavy wood smoke after 11 PM tonight.  This is why we can never go to bed with the windows open in this town.  You never know when someone is going to do some late night burning.  It happens often in North St. Paul, MN.  It's been this way for years now.  There is nothing more infuriating than waking up in the middle of the night to a house filled with the stench of heavy wood smoke. 

5 PM:  No smoke.  Sunny, 65 degrees.  Nice.

7:30 PM:  No smoke.

8:30 PM:  Air is not fresh.  Something undetectable is in it.

10:30 PM:  Not fresh air continues.

11:15 PM:  Moderate to strong wood smoke.  Extremely smoky outside right now.  This air is unfit for human consumption!  I could smell it coming in a window that was left open a crack for ventilation.  Close the windows.  58 degrees.

Do you want to live in a city like this?

Tuesday 05/08/2012 Air Pollution

4:10 PM:  No smoke.  Raining now.  A little thunder is in the sky.  56 degrees.

There was no smoke this evening. 

Monday 05/07/2012 Air Pollution

Asshole frequent burner is burning again. 

4:40 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke from asshole frequent burner.  I saw smoke rising from his property as I came into the neighborhood.  64 degrees, sunny, windy.

5:40 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke from asshole frequent burner continues.  Can you imagine how strong that smoke must be living right next door?

7:00 PM:  No smoke.  Frequent burner must be done burning for the evening or the wind shifted, sparing us from his wood smoke pollution.

There was no more smoke for the rest of the evening.

Sunday 05/06/2012 Air Pollution

More smoky air in North St. Paul.  Somebody in the area likes to burn waste on Sunday nights.

4:45 PM:  A very faint trace of a distinct wood smoke is in the air.  Asshole frequent burner is burning again.  I don't need to go out on the road behind his house to know he is burning.  Nobody else burns wood that smells like that..  63 degrees, cloudy.

5:15 PM:  Moderate wood smoke from asshole frequent burner.  The air is very smoky.  It comes and goes.  We are not catching much of it as the breeze is shifting.  I feel sorry for those who live next door to him.  If it is heavy down here, I can only imagine how heavy it is right next door.

6:15 PM:  Air is not fresh.

8:00 PM:  Air is not fresh.

8:30 PM:  A very faint trace of some type of smoke is in the air.

9:05 PM:  A very faint trace of some unknown smoke continues.

9:30 PM:  Strong wood and grass smoke and possibly other types of waste smoke.  The smoke is extremely heavy!  This air is unbreatheable.  I know asshole frequent burner likes to burn yard waste under cover of darkness.  But so does his neighbor.  I think when asshole frequent burner burns, his neighbor two doors down gets mad and retaliates by burning yard waste.  They should get together and burn at the same time so we can have a little more fresh air around these parts.  Asshole frequent burner's next door neighbor burns waste.  Next door to him is the yard waste burner.  Three homes in a row.  That's what North St. Paul is like. 

10:45 PM:  Strong wood and waste smoke continues.  Even with all the windows closed we can smell the smoke seeping in.  There is no escaping the smoke pollution in this nightmare city.  North St. Paul sucks!  Horrible place to live!

Midnight:  A very faint wood smoke continues after midnight.

Saturday 05/05/2012 Air Pollution

There was no real smoke this evening.  The air was not fresh, something undetectable was in it.  It was raining at 2:15 PM with a thunderstorm shortly after.  The rain stopped by 4:30 PM.  There was no more rain for the duration of the evening but some thunder around 2 AM.  The evening temperature was 57 degrees at 7:30 PM.  A little cool for bonfires.  But not too cool to burn on Friday.  The rain must have made the ground too wet.

Friday 05/04/2012 Air Pollution

We were treated to some smoke from burning yard waste ahead of the rain this evening.  Don't you enjoy smelling burning grass inside your home?

3:55 PM:  Very faint grass smoke.  72 degrees, cloudy, storms are rolling into the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.  This smoke pollution came and went.

4:50 PM:  Very faint to faint grass smoke.  It comes and goes.  It isn't enough to close the windows yet.

6:23 PM:  No smoke.  A few drops of rain fell then stopped.

6:45 PM:  No smoke.  Light rain at this time.

There was no more smoke pollution this evening.

Thursday 05/03/2012 Air Pollution

Wood and yard waste smoke filled our air this evening.  Pretty much normal for North St. Paul, MN.

5:49 PM:  Very faint grass smoke coming in the windows at this time.  There is an illegal yard waste burner out there somewhere.  78 degrees, breezy.

6:12 PM:  Faint grass smoke coming in the windows.  It comes and goes with the breeze.  Time to close the windows!

7:00 PM:  Light grass smoke.  The yard waste smoke is getting stronger.

7:45 PM:  Light wood smoke.

8:10 PM:  Faint to light wood smoke.  72 degrees.

11:30 PM:  Very faint wood smoke is in the air at this time.  That makes about six hours of wood or yard waste smoke in our air this evening.  Do you want to live in a city like this?

Wednesday 05/02/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood or yard waste smoke this evening.  A miracle?  It's hard to say as it looked like it might rain.  I did not record anything about rain other than a thunderstorm warning for south of the Twin Cities.  It was 79 degrees and mostly cloudy at 5 PM.  Dark clouds covered the southern sky by 8 PM.  It was a good evening for fresh air.  The air was perfumed with the delightful aroma of flower blossoms. 

Tuesday 05/01/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood or yard waste smoke tonight due to bad weather.  It was 70 degrees, mostly cloudy and windy at 5 PM with the weather forecast calling for a chance of rain.  It was raining by 9:30 PM with a thunderstorm.

Monday 04/30/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood or yard waste smoke this evening.  It was a little cool.  The temperature at 5:15 PM was 55 degrees. It was a nice evening if you enjoy clean air.

Sunday 04/29/2012 Air Pollution

There was no smoke pollution this evening due to rain and a cool temperature.  It was 56 degrees at 6 PM and light rain was falling by 10 PM. 

Saturday 04/28/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening.  Weather conditions were unfavorable for burning.  The official high temperature in the Twin Cities for this date was 51 degrees.  Not many bonfires happen when it is that cool.  There was no fireplace burning evidently. 

Friday 04/27/2012 Air Pollution

It was another smoky evening in North St. Paul  The chance of rain in the weather forecast was not enough to prevent people from burning.

6:30 PM:  The air is not fresh at this time.  Whatever is in it is not strong enough to determine what it is.  56 degrees and cloudy.

6:55 PM:  Faint wood smoke at this time.  There is a wood burner out there somewhere.  What often happens in North St. Paul is when rain approaches people rush out to burn yard waste before it arrives.  Close the windows!

7:35 PM:  Light wood smoke at this time.

8:00 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke.  The wood smoke pollution keeps getting heavier.

9:22 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke continues.  That's close to three hours of smoky air already this evening.  Rain drops are starting to fall thank goodness.

10:00 PM:  No smoke.

There was no more smoke this evening because of the rain.

Thursday 04/26/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening.  It was a little cool for bonfires. When the evening temperature is below 70 degrees less people are burning.  55 degrees at 5:15 PM.

Wednesday 04/25/2012 Air Pollution

There was only a trace of wood smoke in the air this evening.  Not much, but enough to smell it.  I expected much smokier air than this as warm as it was.

5:00 PM:  No smoke.  73 degrees, mostly cloudy.

9:30 PM:  A very faint trace of wood smoke is in the air at this time.  Somewhere off in the distance a bonfire is burning. There was not much more smoke after this.

Tuesday 04/24/2012 Air Pollution

It was a miracle evening of fresh air!  There was no wood or yard waste smoke polluting our air.  I felt certain there was going to be burning tonight with as beautiful of an evening as we were given.  But there was none.  Sometimes we get lucky in North St. Paul.  Not often.  It was 71 degrees at 4:15 PM, sunny, and beautiful.  Every evening should be like this. 

Monday 04/23/2012 Air Pollution

After last night's heavy smoke from waste burning, we deserved a break from North St. Paul's regular air pollution.  There was no wood or any other type of smoke this evening.  The air was not fresh.  Something was in it, but not strong enough to determine what it was or present much of a nuisance.  It was 63 degrees and sunny at 5:30 PM.  A nice spring evening.

Sunday 04/22/2012 Air Pollution

We were treated to heavy smoke from burning waste this evening.  Burning plastic and what smelled like burning oil or some other type of chemical substance filled the air. 

6PM:  No smoke.

8:40 PM:  Light to moderate wood and grass smoke.  It's pretty smoky outside from illegal yard waste burning.  What people often do is start a bonfire and rake their grass clippings into the firepit.  It happens often here in nightmare North St. Paul.  55 degrees.

9:15 PM:  Moderate very stinky wood and possibly grass smoke.  It is very smoky outside.  You don't want to breathe this heavy North St. Paul air pollution!

9:27 PM:  Moderate to strong burning plastic and possibly some other types of waste.  People burn anything they can get their hands on here in North St. Paul.  If it is combustible, it gets burned in this town. 50 degrees. 

9:50 PM:  Moderate to strong chemical smell.  It smells like burning motor oil or something.  It is possible someone is burning empty bottles of motor oil. 

10:32 PM:  Moderate to strong wood and waste smoke continues.  I cannot describe how terrible this smoke smells.  I have no idea what types of toxic waste are being burned and are entering the homes and lungs of everyone around here.

Midnight:  Moderate waste smoke continues. 

The waste smoke continued after midnight with a light waste smoke in the air at 1 AM.  That makes four hours of smoke from burning waste tonight.  This is how we live in North St. Paul.  Do you want to live in a city like this?

Saturday 04/21/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening due to poor weather.  It was cold and rainy.  The temperature at 6 PM was 45 degrees.  It was raining by 8:30 PM.

Friday 04/20/2012 Air Pollution

Another evening of smoky, polluted air in the city of North St. Paul, MN.

4:40 PM:  Light wood smoke at this time.  Asshole frequent burner is burning.  55 degrees and sunny.  A pleasant spring afternoon if not for the wood smoke pollution fouling our air.

5:45 PM:  No smoke at this time.  Asshole frequent burner burns for hours at a time.  He can't be finished yet.  I will assume the breeze shifted direction. 

6:00 PM:  No smoke. 

7:00 PM:  No smoke. 

8:30 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke.  It's smoky outside.  It's a different type of wood being burned from earlier.  It could be a fireplace with a temperature this cool.  Or a bonfire. 

Thursday 04/19/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening due to unfavorable weather conditions.  It was 43 degrees, cloudy and wet at 5 PM.  A tornado watch was issued around 7 PM. 

Wednesday 04/18/2012 Air Pollution

No smoke this evening.  It was 63 degrees and sunny at 5 PM.  A nice if cool spring day.

Tuesday 04/17/2012 Air Pollution

I did not record anything for this day.  I will say there was no smoke in the air.  The high temperature in the Twin Cities was 58 degrees.  Bonfires are uncommon at temperatures this cool.

Monday 04/16/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening.  Unseasonably cool temperatures kept the burners at bay.  It was 41 degrees at 6 PM.

Updating underway.....

After forgoing regular updates for over two months I am now getting caught up.  While I did not update the blog as I should have, I did keep notes about the horrible air pollution conditions we endured on our property here in North St. Paul  I will update a half month of data a day for the next few days then reply on the blog to some emails I received including a couple from other residents of this city.  I am pleased to see more people are reading this blog.  There are some regular readers, too.  To all those who sent me emails, thank you.  Whether you agree with me or not, I like to hear from people, especially if they live in North St. Paul.  I like reading encouraging words from others around the country who are dealing with similar wood smoke pollution problems in their communities as well. 

I've now got 390 Facebook likes.  I would like to see more.  So if you think clean air is important and you have a Facebook account, please click the Like button.        

Burning wood, burning grass, burning plastic and other wastes, I'll update the blog with details in the next few days.  Just a normal way of life in North St. Paul, Minnesota.  Peak burning season is upon us.  It is only going to get worse here on out.  

Do you want to live in a city like this?

Sunday 04/15/2012 Air Pollution

No wood smoke pollution this evening.  The Minneapolis-St. Paul area was under a tornado watch at 5:45 PM.  The temperature at the time was 73 degrees.  We had some light rain earlier around 3:30 PM.  The weather was unfavorable for recreational air polluting.

Saturday 04/14/2012 Air Pollution

Extremely heavy wood smoke tonight.  The wood smoke was so heavy we could smell it seeping into the house with all the windows closed.  This air is unfit for human consumption.  I stand in disbelief that the assholes who run this stupid city force us to breathe heavily polluted air like this.  You are an asshole Bob Bruton.  You, too, Jan Walczak.     

5:20 PM:  No smoke.  72 cloudy, rain is forecast for later tonight.

7:00 PM:  Very faint wood smoke.  The bonfires are starting.

8:30 PM:  Moderate wood smoke.  The air is very smoky at this time.  You don't want to breathe this toxic air if you can avoid it.

9:45 PM:  Moderately strong wood smoke continues.  It's going to be a long smoky hell of a night in North St. Paul, MN.

10:05 PM: Strong wood smoke.  This air pollution is inhumane!  It doesn't get much worse than this.  Last check of the evening.  Why bother checking the air when the air pollution has already reached the maximum level on the scale?  North St. Paul sucks!

Friday 04/13/2012 Air Pollution

A Friday evening without wood smoke polluting our air?  The weather must be unfavorable.  The temperature was 49 degrees around 7 PM.  Too cool for the pyromaniacs in this town.

Thursday 04/12/2012 Air Pollution

This evening's cool temperature did not prevent burning from polluting our precious air.

5:00 PM:  No smoke.  61 degrees.

7:55 PM:  Air is not fresh.

8:40 PM:  A very faint trace of wood smoke is in the air at this time.

9:45 PM:  Very faint trace of wood smoke continues.  It isn't much.  I can smell it just enough to detect its presence.

11:00 PM:  A faint smoke of some unknown type is in the air.  I don't know what it is, but it is stronger than before.  Last check of the evening.

Wednesday 04/11/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke in the air this evening due to a cool temperature.  It was 51 degrees at 6 PM.  Not many people have bonfires when the temperature is this cool. 

Tuesday 04/10/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke in the air this evening.  The temperature was too cool for bonfires. It was 43 degrees at 5 PM. 

Monday 04/09/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke in the air, but there was a terrible burning rubber smell.  Is someone burning waste?

4:35 PM:  A faint smell of something like burning rubber is in the air at this time.  44 degrees.

6:00 PM:  Faint burning rubber sort of smell continues.

8:00 PM:  Fresh air.

There was no wood smoke this evening.

Sunday 04/08/2012 Air Pollution

It was a smoky night here where we live in North St. Paul.  A normal polluted night.

6:00 PM:  No smoke.  60 degrees, sunny.

7:15 PM:  No smoke.

8:30 PM:  No smoke.

10:00 PM:  Moderate wood smoke.  It is very smoky right now.  Last check of the evening.

Saturday 04/07/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke in the air this evening due to a cool temperature.  It was 55 degrees at 6:30 PM in the Twin Cities.  It isn't often we get a Saturday night free of wood smoke pollution in North St. Paul, MN.

Friday 04/06/2012 Air Pollution

There was more smoke from burning grass than wood tonight.

5:20 PM:  No smoke.  Sunny, 60 degrees.

5:54 PM:  Faint to light smoke from burning grass.

7:35 PM:  Air is not fresh at this time.  Something is in it.

9:00 PM:  No smoke.

11:45 PM:  A very faint trace of wood smoke is in the air.  Last check of the evening.

Thursday 04/05/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening due to a cool temperature.  It was 56 degrees around 7 PM.  Bonfire polluters burn less when the evening temperature is below 70.

Wednesday 04/04/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening.  The temperature was on the cool side.  There are not many people having bonfires when temperatures are this cool.  It was 61 degrees around 7 PM.  A nice evening if you enjoy fresh air.

Tuesday 04/03/2012 Air Pollution

Another evening of smoky air in North St. Paul.

7:00 PM:  No smoke.  64 degrees.

8:00 PM:  No smoke.

9:00 PM:  No smoke.

10:00 PM:  No smoke.

10:35 PM:  Faint to light wood smoke at this time.  There it is. 

10:40 PM:  Light wood smoke.  It has gotten heavier in the past five minutes.  This was the last check of the evening.

Monday 04/02/2012 Air Pollution

Smoky air for a little while this evening. 

6:00 PM:  Light to moderate wood smoke at this time.  Nobody around us is burning.  69 degrees.

7:15 PM:  No smoke.

There was no more smoke in the air this evening but the air was not fresh.  Around 11:30 PM we had some rain from a thunderstorm.  There will be no late night burning tonight.

Sunday 04/01/2012 Air Pollution

12:45 AM:  Light to moderate wood smoke at this time.  Bonfire?  Fireplace?  It could be from both.

There was no wood smoke this evening.  It was a beautiful evening of fresh air.  A rarity in the city of North St. Paul, MN, when the weather is this nice.  The temperature was 66 degrees at 6 PM and it was sunny.  We were treated to a beautiful sunset this evening and were able to be outside to enjoy it and the fresh air.

Saturday 03/31/2012 Air Pollution

It's quite a sight to see people standing around a smoky bonfire dressed in coats and gloves or with hands stuffed in pockets to keep warm.  We saw that this evening at a house nearby.  We saw two bonfires and one person illegally burning yard waste within a quarter mile of home this evening. 

6:00 PM:  The air is not fresh.  Something is in it.  49 degrees and cloudy.

8:00 PM:  Not fresh air continues.

8:25 PM:  A very faint trace of wood smoke is in the air at this time.  It could be from the bonfire burning nearby with people dressed in coats around the bonfire.

9:40 PM:  Very faint to faint wood smoke.

10:15 PM:  Faint to light wood smoke.

10:45 PM:  Faint to light wood smoke continues.

The smoke got heavier after midnight.

Friday 03/30/2012 Air Pollution

Our streak of smoke-free air ended. 

6:30 PM:  Light to moderate grass smoke at this time.  Somewhere someone is illegally burning yard waste.  49 degrees and cloudy. 

7:30 PM:  The air is not fresh at this time.  Whatever is in the air is not strong enough to determine what it is.

8:00 PM:  Faint wood smoke at this time.  It could be a bonfire or a fireplace.

9:45 PM:  Faint to light wood smoke.  46 degrees. 

11:30 PM:  Faint wood smoke continues.  Last check of the evening.

Thursday 03/29/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening due to a cool temperature and rain.  The was 58 degrees at 6 PM.  There was some light rain around 9 PM or so.

Wednesday 03/28/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke in the air this evening.  It was a little cool for burning.  The temperature was 54 degrees at 5 PM.  There are less bonfires when the evening temperature is below 70 degrees or above 85.

Tuesday 03/27/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening.  The temperature was a little cool at 66 degrees at 5 PM and it was very windy.  The sky looked as if it might rain but there was none forecast.  A nice evening for fresh air. 

Monday 03/26/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke polluting our air this evening due to a cool temperature and a little rain.  The temperature at 5 PM was 40 degrees and we had some drizzle later in the evening.

Still here, still smoky

I received this email from a reader.

Hi,

I noticed that you haven't updated your North Saint Paul fire blog in a few months. I was curious if the situation in the city improved due to new burning restrictions, etc, or if you just decided to hang up your blogging gloves.

I hope all is well!

Thank you for your email and good wishes.  I am doing fine.  Burning season started early this year as a result of summery temperatures in March.  I don't have reason to start daily updates until April of most years.  After the warm spell in March, temperatures dropped and we had some rain and the smoke pollution from all the burning became less severe.  The time commitment to maintain this blog is little if updated regularly.  Minutes a day is all it takes.  Having not updated for almost two months, it is going to take some time to get current.  I keep a notebook with shorthand notes about the wood smoke pollution conditions we experience on our property.  I'll go through it and put it all on the blog soon.  I received an email from a resident living near Casey Park I will respond to as well.

The city council has done nothing about the wood smoke pollution and they will not.  Council member Bob Bruton supports recreational wood burning and he cares not about the health risks we endure breathing heavy smoke pollution on a regular basis, not to mention the discomfort and nuisance of breathing the smoky air.  Council member Jan Walczak's neighbors burn.  There are six illegal yard waste burners within a half block north and south of her house on Helen St. that I have noticed burning grass and leaves the past couple of years as I passed down the road.  She isn't going to do anything about the smoke pollution.  If I notice her neighbors illegally burning yard waste passing down her street, she has to notice it, too, living in the middle of it.  Last night's wood smoke was so heavy we could smell it coming in the house with all the windows closed.  Until you experience it you will not appreciate how polluted the air is here in North St. Paul.  You cannot breathe the air.  Your lungs resist your efforts to draw in air.  Step outside for a few seconds and your clothes reek of wood smoke.  It is that bad.

Blogspot updated the user interface for the blog.  I am not happy with it.  It is difficult to use and a little screwy.  I will have to figure out how to make the most of it.  There are changes I wanted to make to the blog.  I want to make it wider so the posts do not appear to be so long.  I would also like to put a slideshow near the top with images of clouds of smoke I photograph here in the city.  I have to condense some of the text near the top as it has become a bit much.  It will take time to do these things.

Wood smoke pollution isn't going anywhere in North St. Paul, MN.  As long as people are allowed to burn seven days a week, people will be burning seven days a week.  If it isn't raining, our air is going to be smoky almost every evening this summer.  As it has been for many years now.  

Sunday 03/25/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening due to a cool temperature. The temperature at 4:30 PM was 57 degrees. Our windows were closed for most of the day so I did not notice any smoke from burning yard waste. If you enjoy fresh, clean air, this was one of those rare days in North St. Paul when the air was not contaminated with wood or yard waste smoke pollution. If it was a nice day, there would be smoke in the air. There always is.

Saturday 03/24/2012 Air Pollution

At least nine fires were burning within a quarter mile radius of us this evening. The wood smoke from Friday night continued well into this morning. There was intermittent burning throughout the day and asshole frequent burner started burning for the first time this season. Asshole frequent burner usually burns four to six times a week, all spring, summer, and fall long and burns yard waste, too, sometimes late at night. He produces huge clouds of smoke and burns for hours at a time day after day. The idiots in charge of this stupid horrible city made it legal and there is nothing we can do about it. Smoky air, noisy drunks. North St. Paul sucks!

Do you want to live in a city like this? Click the Facebook Like button on this blog if you have a Facebook account to help spread the word about the punishment we endure living in North St. Paul, Minnesota.

12:30 AM: Light to moderate wood smoke from Friday night's burning continues.

2:00 AM: Very faint stinky smoldering wood smoke lingers in the air. I checked the air on my way back to bed. Still can't open the windows. Don't want that stinky smell in the house. Somebody probably left their bonfire smoldering all night long. That happens all the time in North St. Paul. This city is a horrible place to live.

7:00 AM: Fresh air. Finally we can open the windows!

11:00 AM: Faint to light wood smoke. Somebody is burning somewhere around this time. Close the windows! 53 degrees and cloudy at this time. It could be a fireplace or somebody could be burning some tree branches. Who knows in this town. If it is combustible, people burn it.

12:00 PM: The air is not fresh. I can't determine what is in it but I know it isn't fresh.

1:30 PM: Not fresh air continues.

2:30 PM: Faint wood smoke around this time.

4:00 PM: Air is not fresh. Something is in it.

4:25 PM: Strong smell of lighter fluid is in the air. When you smell lighter fluid, you know one thing. Asshole frequent burner is going to start burning. Last year he burned about three or four times a week, much less than usual. He usually burns four to six times a week, every week, and has been doing this since around 2004. He's burned tons of wood on that property over the past eight years. His burning starts between 4 PM and 7 PM, he lets his wood smolder itself out, and by the time asshole's wood smoke is done the bonfires start elsewhere. It's wood smoke hell. Close the remaining windows. We know what is coming.

4:30 PM: I went out around the corner and confirmed that asshole frequent burner is burning. He is producing huge clouds of smoke at this time. The smoke is drifting south.

4:34 PM: Wood smoke from asshole frequent burner at home now. North St. Paul sucks! The smoke comes and goes as the breeze shifts direction. We are not catching much of his smoke at this time. We are lucky today. Sometimes we are not so lucky. 68 degrees, and it would be a beautiful evening to sit outside if not for the heavy wood smoke pollution.

4:46 PM: No smoke here. It comes and goes.

5:30 PM: No smoke. Went out and saw asshole frequent burner is still smoking up a storm. Huge clouds of smoke. Lucky for us it isn't coming this way.

6:15 PM: No smoke here.

6:40 PM: Moderate wood smoke. The heavy wood smoke is from the asshole frequent burner. You know the smell of his wood smoke.

7:25 PM: Moderate wood smoke continues. Went out and saw from behind the property huge bursts of smoke going up. That asshole is feeding more wood onto his fire. He's been burning for three hours now. And he will burn every day the weather is nice until September or October. And he will burn grass and in the fall he will burn leaves. And sometimes he will burn his grass after midnight under cover of darkness.

8:00 PM: Faint wood smoke. Smells different than before. Bonfires are starting now.

Sometime between 8:30 and 9 PM I went out for a little ride through the neighborhood. I made a quarter mile circle through the neighborhood, not going down most of the roads. I counted nine homes burning including asshole frequent burner. I saw two more homes I thought could be burning wood but couldn't see anything. There is not much of a breeze at this time. One home had a cloud of smoke hanging over the backyard and I could hear crackling from another home. It's early. More burners will be burning after 10 PM. It's going to be a long, smoky hell of a night.

After going through the neighborhood I headed over to Silver Lake. Smoky as hell over there in some parts. City council member Bob Bruton's neighbor a few houses south was having a bonfire. Down two homes further south was another home having a bonfire. Without much breeze, the smoke seemed to be drifting south and east. That's a shame because Bob Bruton supports recreational burning. He told me he did. Living north of the fires, the smoke may not make it into his windows.

A rental property five homes north of city council member Jan Walczak was having a bonfire. There was a for rent sign in front of the home a couple of months ago. The new tenants look like they are going to be burners. I hope the smoke drifted south onto Jan Walczak's property. Walczak was the first person I complained to about the horrible wood smoke pollution problem in this city back in 2008 and she did not do anything to help. I did not see any windows open at Walczak's house as I passed down on Helen St. Open your windows, Jan. Let that wood smoke into your living room and bedroom. You are the reason this wood smoke exists.

9:00 PM: Light wood smoke. The smoke is only going to get heavier.

9:35 PM: Moderate wood smoke. It is very smoky outside. You don't want to be outside breathing this toxic air.

11:00 PM: Moderate wood smoke continues.

11:55 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues. No chance of opening the windows before bed. We'll just have to hope the bonfires burn themselves out before we wake up in the morning so we can enjoy a few hours of fresh air before the burning starts again.

Friday 03/23/2012 Air Pollution

It's another smoky evening as usual in North St. Paul. The weather is nice for this time of year. There is yard waste to be burned. People have to get drunk and sit around smoky bonfires because they can't find anything else to do.

2:10 PM: Light grass smoke. Home at this time to notice someone is burning grass somewhere. I have wondered how much yard waste burning happens during the day when people are at work. This smoke lasted for less than half an hour.

4:42 PM: Light to moderate grass smoke. There is an illegal yard waste burner who must not be too far away for the smoke to be this heavy. Close the windows! North St. Paul sucks. 71 degrees and it would be a nice afternoon to have the windows open but we can't!

5:15 PM: Light to moderate grass and what may be wood being burned with it. It is common for yard waste burners to start a bonfire and rake their grass clippings into it. Or the yard waste burner could be disposing of tree branches. It's too smoky to sit outside and too smoky to open the windows. North St. Paul is a horrible place to live.

5:40 PM: Light to moderate paper or some other type of smoke. Why not burn some other types of waste while you are at it? I don't know who is doing the burning. Nobody around us is doing it. It could be someone on the next block or down further than that.

6:30 PM: No smoke. The calm before the storm.

7:00 PM: No smoke. There will be as there always is. If it is nice enough to have the windows open and it isn't raining, people are burning. Wood, grass, paper, if it is combustible, people burn it in North St. Paul.

7:30 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. It's smoky outside. Too smoky to sit outside. Too smoky to open the windows. We are prisoners in our own homes once again.

8:00 PM:Moderate wood smoke. The wood smoke pollution has gotten heavier. It is very smoky outside. Not as smoky as it was last Friday. Last Friday it was extremely smoky. This Friday is only very smoky. In North St. Paul, very smoky air is an improvement over how bad it can get.

8:55 PM: No smoke. The breeze must have shifted. The burning isn't ending this early on Friday.

9:30 PM: Light wood smoke.

10:10 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke.

10:40 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke continues.

Midnight: Light wood smoke. There is no chance of opening the windows before bed.

The wood smoke continued well into the morning hours. Burning is supposed to cease at 11 PM but it rarely does in this shitty polluted hell of a city.

Thursday 03/22/2012 Air Pollution

There was no smoke this evening because of rain. It's still early in the season for recreational burning and the temperature tonight was on the cool side. It was 67 degrees at 5 PM. We had intermittent rain sprinkles during the evening. If you enjoy fresh, unpolluted air, this was a good evening. We don't get many smoke-free evenings in North St. Paul. We have to savor every one.

Wednesday 03/21/2012 Air Pollution

No smoke this evening. A cool temperature and some rain kept the pyromaniacs from polluting our precious air. 62 degrees at 6 PM.

Tuesday 03/20/2012 Air Pollution

There was no wood smoke this evening. It was a little cool for bonfires and we had some light rain this evening. 62 degrees at 8 PM. Good evening for fresh air. We had some windows open around the house enjoying the little fresh air available in North St. Paul.

Monday 03/19/2012 Air Pollution

Somebody is always burning something in North St. Paul when the weather is nice. This evening was no exception.

5:00 PM: No smoke. Fresh air. 78 degrees and windy.

5:44 PM: Very faint grass smoke blowing in the windows on the wind.

5:56 PM: Faint grass smoke coming and going. The yard waste smoke is getting stronger. We can smell it inside the house. It was close to the point where we would have to close the windows. We didn't.

6:30 PM: Very faint wood or some type of smoke in the air. It isn't much. It's not a grill. It could be someone burning tree branches. If you drive around the city you will see plenty of firepits filled with tree branches ready to be burned.

7:00 PM: No smoke.

8:00 PM: No smoke. Light rain falling around this time with a little lightning and thunder. Our first thunderstorm of the season.

8:40 PM: No smoke. Moderate rain falling. The rain is heavier now. Lightning continues to flicker in the clouds. There will be no bonfires tonight. Good.

There was no more smoke this evening. We went to bed with a few windows open around the house for ventilation as drizzle continued at bed time. A little grass smoke nuisance is about as good as it gets in North St. Paul. We had much heavier wood and yard waste smoke the past few days.

Sunday 03/18/2012 Air Pollution

A beautiful day, a beautiful evening. That means smoky air.

We enjoyed a little smoke from burning yard waste blowing in the windows intermittently throughout the day with some pretty heavy yard waste and wood smoke this evening. The joys of living in North St. Paul.

10:45 AM: Very faint grass smoke coming in the windows. Somebody is illegally burning yard waste somewhere off in the distance. It is breezy at this time. The smoke comes and goes with the breeze.

11:00 AM: Faint grass smoke coming in the windows. It's a little stronger now. 67 degrees, sunny, beautiful except for the yard waste smoke in the air. I stepped outside to try to determine the direction the smoke is coming from. It was hard to tell as the breeze shifted directions every few seconds. It seemed to be coming out of the west. It came and went for the next half hour or so.

12:22 PM: A very faint trace of some type of smoke is in the air. Likely grass smoke.

1:25 PM: Faint yard waste smoke coming and going with the breeze. It did not last too long.

3:30 PM: A very faint smoke of some type is in the air. Not sure what it is.

4:00 PM: No smoke. Fresh air.

5:00 PM: Fresh air.

6:15 PM: Fresh air continues. 79 degrees and windy.

6:45 PM: A very faint smoke of some type is in the air and coming in the windows. I don't know what it is.

7:15 PM: A very faint smoke of some type continues.

7:18 PM: Light to moderate wood and yard waste smoke flooded into the house. With the wind gusty as it is, the house was filled with the stench of wood and yard waste smoke within seconds. The entire house reeked. Close the windows! The smoke was coming and going on the wind.

I found the source of the yard waste burning. For the third evening in a row a home near Margaret & 19th was burning. On Friday, a home in the area of Margaret & 18th was having a fire and burning tree branches. Last night a home near the corner of Margaret & 19th or the home next door was having a bonfire and burning wood and what smelled like paper. Tonight a home near the corner of Margaret & 19th was burning yard waste. We are a good distance away from that house but the wind filled our house with that smoke like the burning was happening next door. I hope city council members Jan Walczak and Bob Bruton caught some of that yard waste smoke inside their homes. They live closer to the burner than we do.

7:45 PM: Very faint yard waste or some other smoke at this time.

8:30 PM: Light wood smoke at this time coming from the direction of the yard waste burner. It comes and goes as the wind shifts direction.

8:40 PM: Very faint smoke coming from the direction of the yard waste burner.

9:00 PM: No smoke.

9:30 PM: No smoke.

10:00 PM: No smoke. 71 degrees in North St. Paul.

We are tempted to leave a few windows open around the house for some ventilation and to cool the house a little before morning. It's a big risk because you never know when somebody is going to start a bonfire late or do some late night yard waste burning. It happens all the time. There are not many things more infuriating than to wake up at 1 AM to a house full of wood smoke.

The average high temperature for today is 42 degrees. When temperatures return to normal the bonfires should go away until it warms up again in April and May. This smoky weekend is only a sample of what is to come.

Saturday 03/17/2012 Air Pollution

The weather forecast calls for a high of 80 degrees today with a 20 percent chance of an isolated thunderstorm. It is unlikely we will have any rain tonight to keep the bonfire burners at bay. That means it will be another smoky hell of an evening in North St. Paul.

9:50 AM: Very faint grass smoke coming in the windows. 65 degrees at this time. It's nice that the yard waste burner out there somewhere is getting an early start. Early to bed, early to burn. The smoke came and went for 15 minutes or so and was gone.

2:50 PM: Very faint grass smoke is coming in the windows. Is this the same yard waste burner as earlier or is this a new one? It is breezy.

3:25 PM: Very faint grass smoke coming and going. 77 degrees in North Saint Paul.

5:30 PM: A very faint smoke of some type is in the air. It is not strong enough to determine what it is. It could be burning grass or a grill off in the distance.

6:45 PM: No smoke. The calm before the storm. Savor that last bit of fresh air because soon there won't be any for many hours. 76 degrees and beautiful. You could not ask for a nicer day. That means the air will be smoky tonight. As it always is.

7:35 PM: The air is not fresh. There is something in it. Dusk is upon us and bonfires start around this time. Getting ready to close the windows soon.

8:10 PM: Light wood smoke is coming in the windows at this time. Close the windows! It is breezy at this time. I went out and it was faintly smoky all over. I found a bonfire on the southern edge of Silver Lake at Margaret & 19th. A home was burning over there last night and tonight a different home is burning. It was also very smoky along 17th at Charles and east near the old Silver Lake Market that is now a bank of some type. It is breezy at this time. The breeze blows north, then west, and alternates between the directions. Wood smoke is being disbursed far and wide. I did not find the source of the wood smoke coming in our windows.

It is a beautiful, breezy summery evening. It would be a nice night to sit outside and enjoy the pleasant air free of insects. But we can't because the air is smoky, as it always is in North St. Paul. Can't open the windows and enjoy the breeze flowing through the house. We can only sit inside with all the windows closed up tight. We are prisoners in our own home was again.

9:00 PM: Faint wood smoke.

9:30 PM: Light wood smoke.

9:45 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. The wood smoke is getting stronger. Around 70 degrees at this time.

11:15 PM: Faint to light wood smoke. Last check of the evening. There is no chance of opening the windows before bed. We can only hope the air is free of wood smoke pollution come morning so we can open the windows up and enjoy the weather before it gets colder again.

The air was fresh when I woke up Sunday morning. Thankfully. It is common for the air to be smoky in the morning because people leave their bonfires smoldering all night. The air was not as smoky as last night, but was too smoky to sit outside or open the windows.

Smoky, polluted air every day of your life in North St. Paul.

Friday 03/16/2012 Air Pollution

It was a beautiful evening. Warm and pleasant. As always in the city of North St. Paul, MN, when the weather is nice the air is so heavy with wood smoke pollution you cannot stand to breathe it. I knew it would be smoky tonight because it always is in North St. Paul when the weather is nice. Always. You can bet money on it and win every time.

It would have been a nice evening to sit outside and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather more characteristic of late May than March. But you couldn't. The air was so polluted with wood and yard waste smoke breathing it irritated your sinuses. Stepping outside for a minute would leave your clothes reeking of smoke as if you spent hours in a smoky bar. It was another North St. Paul nightmare from hell.

3:10 PM: Very faint to faint smoke that smells odd. It smells like burning grass and burning meat or something. I'm not sure what it is. The smoke comes and goes blowing in the windows. It stinks. 76 degrees and sunny at this time.

3:35 PM: The very faint stinky smoke from earlier comes and goes.

4:00 PM: No smoke. Fresh air. But it won't last long.

5:00 PM: No smoke. The calm before the wood smoke pollution storm. 77 degrees and sunny.

6:50 PM: No smoke. The windows are open. The breeze is blowing through the house. Enjoying that last bit of fresh air.

7:15 PM: The air is not fresh. Something is in it. Somebody somewhere is burning. The bonfires have started. Close the windows! We know what is coming. It's like this every day in this horrible polluted hell of a city.

7:30 PM: Very faint to faint wood smoke in the air. The pollution is getting stronger.

7:37 PM: Faint wood smoke in the air. The smoke is getting stronger.

8:00 PM: Moderate to strong wood and what smells like grass smoke. It is extremely smoky at this time. This air pollution is inhumane. I can't believe any human being would subject another human being to the torture of heavy air pollution like this as our city council has been doing for years. Living in North St. Paul is like living in a bad dream that you relive every evening.

8:55 PM: Moderate to strong wood and grass smoke continues. Extremely heavy air pollution continues. You cannot stand to breathe this air. If you stepped outside for one minute your clothes would reek of smoke when you came back in.

9:50 PM: Light wood smoke at this time. The intensity of the air pollution is decreasing. 66 degrees at this time.

10:15 PM: Faint wood smoke continues.

10:40 PM: Very faint wood smoke at this time. This was the last check of the evening.

I did not stay up late and slept through until morning. I wasn't able to check if the smoke got heavier late at night as it often does.

This is life in North St. Paul. This is how we have lived for many years now. I've seen that homes have been selling the past couple of months. You people who are moving into the city are in for a rude surprise when you see how much it costs you for electricity this summer when you have to leave your air conditioner on all night because the air is so smoky you can't open your windows.

North St. Paul was a great place to live until the early 2000s. It's been getting worse and worse every year since.