If you *do* burn wood, here are some ways to reduce the pollutants and hazards that Lisa describes:

Only burn when there is no air quality alert.

Avoid using chemical firestarters.

Use only very dry wood. Damp wood smolders and creates more of every pollutant.

Burn a hot fire, that is, use small pieces that can burn quickly.

Don't starve the fire for air. Lack of oxygen creates carbon monoxide and other pollutants.

When you're done, put out the embers with water.

Mike, a great post. And it's absolutely true. Wood burning can be done cleanly, even in an open pit. The problem is that most people do not know how to properly do this; your post addresses this beautifully.

I'm asthmatic and well-built fires with good seasoned wood are no problem. It's the badly built fires with poor quality wood that get ya!

Thank you, both, for your comments.

As you pointed out, Mike, success lies in how well built a fire is, what type of wood is used, and proper ventilation. Unfortunately, controlling air flow to an open fire pit is difficult, certainly much more so than on current EPA certified wood stoves. Inefficient combustion results in much of wood's energy being released as waste (smoke), not heat. I'm trying to track down efficiency numbers from my sources but the numbers I've heard bandied about for fire pits are 10-20% efficiency (wood-burning fireplaces are 20-30% efficient).

Sorry to hear you suffer from asthma, too, E. You're lucky that wood smoke isn't a trigger for you. I wish it wasn't for me (but I'd still rather smell my flowers than smoke).

You missed my point. I am asthmatic, and very sensitive to wood smoke. However, with a well-built fire, smoke should not be a problem. You should not even see much in the way of smoke if the fire is hot enough and built with the right materials, as Mike points out.

I would not hesitate to build a fire pit in my garden, and burn my well-seasoned hardwood in it. But I prefer to save my firewood for my woodstove. Wood is a very sustainable way to burn, as long as it's done right. And with current fuel costs, I think we can plan on much more wood smoke in our future.

I would like to see this topic focused more on education and proper fire building, as opposed to eliminating fire features in the garden entirely. How about starting an educational program in your community, through your local fire department?