TUESDAY AUGUST 5 , 2008
A warm summer evening just before sunset. Winds are almost dead still. Temperature 83 degrees and humid.
Burn duration: Multiple burns all afternoon and evening, which accumulated and did not dissipate until the next morning.

This is a warm August evening during the Summer of 2008. The camera lens isn't designed to pick up all of the smoke, but the cloud is visible over the entire property immediately to the North of the source, appx. 250 feet deep x 350 feet wide in size.The expanse of smoke continues into our property and the property behind us. If you look carefully before the exposure goes darker (because of the setting sun in the background) the smoke is still visible and slowly spreading northward. A visible, continuous cloud could be seen at least as far northward as 201st Ave., which is appx. 800 feet from the source.

This much smoke encompasses at least 8 homes, or about 20 acres of properties. There was little or no wind, so if the smoke is drifting about equally outward from the source, the smoke could easily have a 1600 foot radius, about 1/3 mile! Again, the trees in the background are at least 40 feet tall to give you an idea of the massive coverage area.

There are no special circumstances causing this- no temperature inversion, no land feature trapping the smoke. This is a common view on a windless evening, and what we experience day after day. This thick blanket of CO will settle around our home on still nights; the smoke and smell may remain all evening. This is not just a concern when we are outside. The air inside our house comes from only one place- outside our house. It's not inconceivable that living with this year after year could be detrimental to our health.

Ironically, this was taken on National Night Out 2008, when neighbors are supposed to get out and meet each other. The only other person standing outside in the heavy smog was the person stoking the boiler. Look for the little white dot in the trees, right before the end of the video clip. That's a person, and gives you a good idea of the immense SCALE of the smoke being created.
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