Bonfire fumes and neighbourly nuisance

When renting an idyllic Lemonary villa on the outskirts of Florence, inhaling bonfire smoke every day during the winter months probably doesn’t come to mind. Yet, when the olive season ends and the burning begins, you’ll certainly notice it.

"You’re in Tuscany. This is tradition, so you’d better get used to it," said my neighbour Jack, when I explained how we were already struggling with the olive tree waste fires and didn’t need to be breathing in the fumes from his fire pit as well. To make matters worse, ash often lands all over our car. While I understand his workers need to stay warm, as neighbours, we’d like to stay healthy and didn’t expect to end up with bad lungs throughout the winter.

Jack's fire pit fumes over and in our house. At least the workers were warm :)

Jack’s fire pit fumes drift over and into our house. At least his workers are warm, I suppose. Jack is, in fact, a lovely Greek man with homes in Athens and North London. He’s currently renovating the villa next door, though he doesn’t live here yet. I do have a feeling karma will catch up with him when he finally moves in and experiences this for himself. He’ll also likely discover the joy of his anti-wild boar alarm, which doesn’t distinguish between humans and animals, and is a daily nuisance in addition to the fumes [snort].

Ironically 'lung-shaped' smoke clouds coming from the burning olive plantation residue down our road

The olive season wraps up by the end of November, and that’s when the tree waste burning begins. I believe this practice serves two purposes: keeping workers warm while they continue harvesting and disposing of the pruned branches to prepare the land for the next growing season.

Here’s just one of the many fires we see daily across the valley:

And no, that’s not morning mist, it’s the smoke from several local bonfires. The air quality is genuinely dreadful.

And yes, this is not morning mist, it is bonfire smokes of several fires locally. It really is bad.

Apparently, the basic rules for burning pruning waste are:

• Burn only on calm, windless days.

• Use freshly pruned branches and plants, as green foliage produces less heat.

• Ensure burning is done far from areas prone to fire, such as dense vegetation or abandoned, overgrown land.

• In some regions, if you’re burning within 100 metres of homes or fire-prone areas, you’ll need a permit from the State Forestry Corps.
  

Just one olive tree waste fire creating a huge plume of smoke

The State Forestry Corps oversees these activities and may instruct local mayors to ban burning when conditions pose a high fire risk. However, it seems the health risks to local residents aren’t a priority and this wasn’t something flagged by our estate agent as a potential issue when moving to Tuscany. Hence, I’m writing this article to give others a much-needed heads-up.

When walking the dog first thing, you end up breathing in roadside 'olive waste' fumes almost daily.

When walking the dog early in the morning, you inevitably end up breathing in roadside olive waste fumes. It’s worth bearing this in mind if you care about your lung health and plan to live in rural Italy, or, like us, on the edge of a city where thousands of olive trees are still harvested but town is just a short trip away.

Smoke seeping up from the valley is relentless over winter months

The heavy smoke, which shouldn’t be mistaken for picturesque valley mist

Neighbour nearby (house top left) burning their olive waste

Nearby neighbours (house top left) also burning their olive waste.

That’s the end of my rant for now, though it seems the daily burning is far from over. Thank goodness for the occasional clean air day!