NUISANCE DAYS= Most dictionary definitions of the word "nuisance" include the words "annoyance" and "inconvenience". The smoke and odor are DEFINITELY an annoyance and an inconvenience when it blows into our yard. The AMOUNT of annoyance and inconvenience varies, depending on environmental factors (wind direction or lack of it, humidity, time of year), and the habits of the person doing the burning. However, the smoke and smell are unpredictable, and we can suddenly be overwhelmed in a matter of seconds, both indoors and out.

We consider the smoke to be a nuisance when it causes us to interrupt or alter use of our property; or occasions where we were forced to take action to avoid the smoke and odor where we otherwise would not have been necessary to do so. Monthly totals are shown at the right.

Weather notes: From previous experience, wind speeds which are under 5 mph are often at or near 0 mph in our location.
The wind direction and speeds noted are what the majority of the day was like. Typically, around sunset the winds calm down compared to the daytime.

MPCA AIR QUALITY ALERT= The Air Quality Index (AQI) reports daily air quality conditions. Different people are affected differently by air quality. We have listed the dates the MPCA issued air quality ALERTS which affect us (Moderate and above). Monthly totals are shown at the right.The complete list of AQI measurements can be found here: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/

Keep in mind: the MPCA AQI ALERTS are issued for Minnesotans who do NOT live next to an outdoor wood boiler. Since we do live next to one, any time the conditions are right for keeping pollutants trapped near the ground, the same CONDITIONS which cause the alert for the general population multiplies our problem. The primary pollutant on most ALERT days, according to the MPCA, is particulate matter (PM2.5). As it happens, OWB's create disproportionately large volumes of PM2.5 as compared to ALL other types of residential wood burning.

DEAD ZONE = Although we may smell smoke every day at any given time, this is our personal notation for the worst of the worst days and nights on our property. On DEAD ZONEdays, the wind is dead calm and the smoke accumulates until the air on our property is absolutely unbreathable for any extended period of time. Sometimes the odor is in the air all night long, until sunrise the next morning. Merely stepping outside and breathing triggers coughing and/or asthma attacks during DEAD ZONE times. Although we are not scientists, we sincerely believe the particulate levels are so intensely high on the DEAD ZONE dates, they would trigger MPCA Air Quality Index Alerts comparable to the UNHEALTHY AND VERY UNHEALTHY range (orange to red) if measured using their measuring instruments. Our dead zones may or may not correlate with MPCA AQI days; often they precede or follow the alert days. Monthly totals are shown at the right.

NOTE: If you live within breathing distance of the smoke, you can estimate the number of days it blows onto your property. Figure out which direction you live from the source, and then count the number of days the wind carried the smoke towards you and your family.

Yes. Not a Dead Zone because the winds were just enough to let it blow through our property from dark until??

NO At least through 3pm today, there has been very little if any smoke. Definitely unusual to not smell it for the better part of 5 days. Today the wind is out of the SSE and would not be blowing directly at us, but typically the clouds are visible as they roll up the hill through the neighbor's back yards- we see them whenever we look out the window most days.

How little smoke is there? It's foggy today, and there's a lot of moisture in the air and even the neighbor's natural gas furnace is putting out a visible cloud today. There is also an air pollution alert over 100 today, which makes any exhaust more noticible. When everyone else's exhaust is visible, but the OWB exhaust is not, once again it stands out like a sore thumb. It reminds me of the old movie adage: "It's quiet out there... a little TOO quiet." We can only surmise like the few previous times we have caught a break from the smoke and smell, it's only temporary.