Neighbors Weekend Fires

Contact the city, anyways anonymously, tell them the situation. If there is lots of smoke, the city could intervene just from seeing it, so they may not automatically assume it was you who called.

Do you belong to a Home Owner's Association or anything like that for the neighborhood? If so, contact them as well.

Elko New Market is pretty rural, yes? I would check out the local burning ordinances before filing a complaint. They likely have to comply with certain size and time restrictions as well as restrictions on what they can burn...How close to structures...How close the access to a water source (hose) is. Be sure they are not in compliance before calling.

I grew up in Inver Grove in a rural area and we had bonfire restrictions but not campfire restrictions and we could burn any kind of wood (fire or green or treated) but not garbage.

I now live in St. Paul and was surprised to find a city had such flexible back yard campfire rules. We have had several so far in this unbelievably lovely spring. But our ring is less than 3 ft in diameter. It is 20 ft from any structure or tree. We only light it between 7 & 9. We keep a hose w/in hands reach. We burn dry firewood. And...As much as I love the smell of a campfire (ours is just one of dozens and dozens in the neighborhood)...I take a shower before I go to bed because it simply doesn't smell so awesome when it lingers in your hair.

Talk to him directly. Don't be angry or demanding (though you feel that way). Just explain to him the problems your family is experiencing and that you would like to enjoy the day's fresh air. Give him the opportunity to help solve this problem. That is the way to show him respect. Hopefully, he will respect you as well!

Sorry if I'm repeating... I didn't read the other's answers. In our city (SLP) it is against city regulation to burn anything that would cause a lot of smoke, specificially small branches, leaves and thing that are not fully dried. If you know and like your neighbors, I'd just let them know your problem. If you don't, call the city and ask them to approach your neighbors with an annonymous complaint. It would also be well within reason to ask your neighbors to douse their fire when they are done with it so it doesn't smoulder all night long. In city fires are supposed to be recreational - so in the evening while people are enjoying it. Not just to rid your yard of debris.
Good luck.

You could invite them over for lemonade and a snack. Perhaps they would realize that is very smoky in your yard. If they don't notice, you could use that opportunity to let them know without being passive-aggressive (like coughing excessively). You could also offer them some dryer branches if you have them (or offer to dry some out) so they don't have to sit in all that smoke. If you give them the benefit of the doubt tthat they don't know it's a problem, you will approach them more kindly and maybe get somewhere faster. But you should definitely say something. You own the land you live on and should be able to enjoy it just like they are.

I would talk to your neighbors first. More than likely they will respect you more than just going straight to the city to file a complaint. I'm in a situation where our neighbors turned us into the city for "junk"-as they put it-in our yard. If they had an issue, I wish they would have came to us first instead of embarrassing us with them going to the city.
Like a lot of people have said-they may not realize how it's affecting you.

First of all, I would feel exactly the same way--the smell would drive me crazy, and it sounds like they're being inconsiderate of how their burning affects other neighbors.

That said, I think you need to talk to them first. For one thing, they may not know how bad the smell is or how much it's wafting. They could be totally apologetic and fix things immediately. Second, even if they do know, it's fair to give them a chance to fix it before you call the city.

Then, if all else fails, you should check into city ordinances and call. And yes, your neighbors will have access to the reports so they will know exactly who called--BUT, it will not be a surprise because you will have given them fair and polite warnings/chances first.

Good luck...we have experience with not-so-nice neighbors. The good ones are a gem to have! :)

Hmmm. I don't know about where you are, but in CA there are very strict laws about who can burn what and where within so many feet of a housing structure and on what days, assuming permits are even being issued.
That said, people are allowed to have contained fire pits in their yards for roasting weenies or marshmallows.
I think you might consider nicely talking to your neighbors. They may not even realize that the smoke bothers you. You don't even have to ask them to stop, you could just nicely ask how long they intend to burn today because you had plans for being in your yard today as well.
I'm not saying you would do this, but we've had neighbors who called the police everytime we burned anything and then we showed the permit and the police left because it was all done legally. And they called the police over bbq'ing because of the fire danger and because they were vegetarians and they didn't like the smell of cooked flesh. They called the police when we cut an old dead tree down in the yard to keep it from falling on the house because they said we were logging without a permit and they didn't believe in cutting down trees.
My point is, they never said anything face to face. They just turned people in everytime anyone turned around. And yes....we all knew who did it every time because they were the only neighbors who wouldn't talk and be neighborly to everyone else.
Like I said, they may not realize the smoke comes directly toward your house. And I don't know how far apart your houses are or what the laws are there, but they don't have any control over which way the wind blows.
I would just nicely talk to them and say the smoke does kind of bother you sometimes and you were wondering how long they would be burning today. Is burning an ongoing thing or are they just getting part of their yard cleared out and they'll be done? Hopefully you can come to some sort of compromise as long as you don't come off as being pushy about it.
If they tell you to stuff it and they'll do whatever they want, then you know being nice won't get you anywhere.
Hopefully....they just didn't realize it bothered you.

Best wishes.

Have you told them about the smoke? If not then they probably don't realize how bad it gets at your place. It sounds like they are cleaning up the debrie and burning it rather then sending it to the dump. I would mention it to them in a nice way, if that doesn't work then I would set up big fans and blow it back into their yard! Ok, so maybe that won't be feesable but it is an idea..lol Actually you can see if there is a open burn ordance in your town and if there is a no burn law during the summer months you can use that to let them know to knock it off.

Thanks for your post, because we have the exact same problem. It's so frustrating because it's EVERY SINGLE DAY all summer long. The smell of burning leaves gives me such a headache, and I wonder if my kids are affected. I'm a "throw the windows open" kind of girl, so this really bugs me. I've been thinking about filing a complaint or calling it in, but like you, I don't really want to start a feud. These neighbors aren't exactly friendly, so talking with them would be super awkward. Anyway, good luck to us both!

File an anonymous complaint. Burning huge piles of branches requires a permit and if you are in city limits, it's probably illegal anyway. The city or police department can guide them to use the city's compost site.

I would absolutely let the city take care of this. Call now!

You can file a complaint. They don't even ask your name. It's really the only way to resolve things without hard feelings or revenge lol

Just talk to them! Don't complain. Tell them exactly the facts.

Instead of thinking about the worst, think about the best thing that could happen.

Can't you TRY to be friends first? My neighbor did the same thing, so I shut my windows, brought over a six-pack, sat down with them and discussed it like two neighbors who have to live next door to each other. When I have fires in my yard, I invite them. Also, when I have fires in my yard, I walk over and tell them that I plan to make a fire, and mention that this would be a good time for them to close their windows. Guess what? We're friends, with them and all their family.

You sound pissed off. Make sure you go to talk to them with that attitude in check.

Start by being friendly. Trust that they will be friendly too. Talk together, you and your neighbor, to figure out what will be best for both of you. Think up some possible solutions, so that you're not just complaining when you go to talk to them. That's what we do in my neighborhood. Especially if people keep to themselves, it will be useful for you to get some conversations going. You don't have to wait for the others to reach out. You can be the one who starts to make your neighborhood neighborly.

While this does suck, there isn't much you can do as long as it is legal in the area. So that being said, what I would do is like everyone else said, talk to them. They may be nice people and be more considerate.

We have a burn pile that we burn once a year during the allowed time. My neighbors (one lot over-there is an empty lot between us) had their bedroom windows open on the day we burned it. She closed her windows as soon as she saw us burning and that was that (of course we only do it once a year, not everyday)

Good Luck

If you are within the city limits they usually don't allow fires for getting rid of brush and other stuff. If they are just burning wood to have a fire in their fire pit I guess it is different but it should still be a fire hazard. i say call and complain.

Ask nicely, and ask if you can coordinate a burning schedule? I would check with the burning rules with the city, but not as a weapon to use against them, but more to make sure they are doing something legal so THEY don't get into trouble. Firepits are lovely, I'm sure, but you want to be a good neighbor, and they should be careful for their own sakes. Good luck :)

I agree with the others, in that they most likely don't realize what they'r doing is bothering you. Really, in our society today most of us don't think of others, and even if we try to, we may not put ourselves exactly in their shoes. Approach them nicely. Offer to bring over marshmellows for their next burn session, if they'd let you know when it is! Say something nicely in passing, such as "Hey - you guys seem to be loving your fire pit! We love to have a fire when we go camping, too, they're so relaxing! You know, I'm sure you haven't realized, but I just wanted to let you know that sometimes when you burn, the smoke really fills up our house/yard. I'm not trying to complain, just let you know, and ask if maybe next time you'd be so kind to let us know when you're burning something so we can close our windows."

We have a similar situation with a neighbor's compost pile. They've started an open pile and regularly place their food scrapes, yard waste, etc. in it right next to our yard/garden. Sounds fine, but it is open and not covered, and is attracting a lot of pests (bees/wasps/flies). I need to talk to them about it , too, and plan to use some of the advice you've been given to approach them nicely. I'll try to give them the benefit of the doubt, and maybe offer to cover it for them, or educate them on a better option that doesn't attract as many pests to MY yard! Good luck!

There is nothing you can do about it if they are following all of the city ordinences. You can call your town/city hall and ask what the burning restrictions are. If they are not in compliance, you can call the non emergency fire department line or complain to the city hall.

If they are approachable, let them know in a nice way that the smoke is really bothersome.

If they continue burning after you talked to them, contact the city and get information on burning. If it is against the law, then contact the police saying that there is a lot of smoke coming from your neighbors house.

We have called the police on our neighbors a few times when their parties go out of hand. This was after we verbally spoke to them.

We still have a good relationship with them.

As some posters have said, they may not realize it.

Good luck!