Here’s Why It Seemed Smoky Outside Saturday Night

Saturday night, March 7, I took the dog out about 9:00PM CST. I noticed a smoky smell and what looked like a smoky haze in the air. (I live in Warrensburg, buy the way.) I tried to figure out what it was. Was it the neighbors having a fire in their back yard fire pit? Was there a wildfire near by? I wasn't even sure it was anything. Looking up or down the block, it seemed kind of smoky. Definitely smelled smoky. But when I got under the street lamp, it looked kind of clear.

This morning thanks to the Knob Noster Fire Department's Facebook page I know what it was:

Turns out the smoke was coming from the controlled burn the U.S. Forest Service was conducting in Taney County near the Mark Twain National Forest. This according to KY3. KTTS radio in Springfield reported heavy smoke settling along the East side of US 65 and said they had learned that low vent rates are causing that smoke to sink down instead of dissipate into the atmosphere.

It makes perfect sense to me now. I knew that smell was somewhat familiar. I lived in West Texas during the drought several years ago, and a similar thing would happen when there from brush fires occuring somewhere else in the state. You get the right weather conditions and winds, and a hazy smoke and smoke smell would permeate the city.

I'm glad it was just that and not a wildfire near us.