Why does my fire pit smoke so much?

A fire pit that smokes heavily is usually burning wet wood, starving for air, or burning something that should not be in it. A dry, hot fire with plenty of air burns most of its fuel, and a damp, smoldering one sends it into your eyes and your neighbor's windows. The fixes are cheap and mostly about the wood.

Cause 1: the wood is wet or green

This is the usual culprit. Freshly cut or rain-soaked wood spends its heat boiling off water, the fire never gets hot enough to burn cleanly, and the result is white, choking smoke.

Fairfax County's rule for recreational fires is to burn only dry, well-seasoned firewood or similar clean burning wood,^[1] and it is a good habit anywhere. Freshly split wood usually needs a long spell of drying, so buy or cut it well ahead of the season. Stack it off the ground with the top covered and the sides open to the breeze; a tarp wrapped tightly around the whole pile tends to hold moisture in.

A wood moisture meter is the quick test. Split a log and press the pins into the fresh face, not the weathered outside. If you buy wood, ask the seller how long it has been split and stacked, and check a few pieces before you stack a whole load.

Cause 2: the fire cannot breathe

Fire needs air from below and around the fuel. Three things usually choke it:

• Too much wood at once. A pit packed full of logs smothers the flames. Start small, and add a few pieces at a time once the fire is going well.
• Deep ash. A thick bed of old ash and half-burned chunks blocks air from reaching the fire. Clear it out between fires once the pit is completely cold.
• A pit with no air supply. A deep, solid-walled pit can starve the fire from below. Unilock notes that in-ground fire pits need properly designed air vents to work properly and safely.^[6] Gaps between blocks in the bottom course, or a raised grate, can help.

If the fire keeps dying back to smoke, it usually needs more air, drier wood, or both.

Cause 3: the wrong fuel

Some things smoke no matter how you burn them. Start the fire with newspaper and dry kindling. In Fairfax County, combustible and flammable liquids may not be used to help light a recreational fire at all.^[1]

The Virginia Department of Forestry notes that state regulations prohibit the open burning of any material that creates dense smoke or noxious odors, and that no one in Virginia may burn tires or other hazardous materials at any time.^[3] Local rules go further. In Fairfax County, land-clearing waste and refuse may not be used as fuel for a recreational fire.^[1] Burning rubber, asphaltic materials or impregnated wood, which make dense smoke, is prohibited there.^[1] And in the parts of Virginia designated volatile organic compound emissions control areas,^[5] the state's open-burning regulation bars open burning of rubber tires, asphaltic materials, crankcase oil, impregnated wood or other rubber or petroleum-based materials.^[4]

Leaves and fresh green trimmings are the other common culprit. They are wet, they pack down, and they smolder. Household trash, cardboard and painted or treated scraps belong in the trash or recycling, not the pit.

Cause 4: wind and weather

Smoke follows the breeze, so on a gusty night it seems to chase whoever is sitting downwind. Damp, still evenings can also leave smoke hanging low around the pit. The Department of Forestry's advice for outdoor burning is to never burn on dry or windy days.^[3] When wildfire smoke is already in the air, AirNow's advice is to pay attention to local air quality reports,^[7] and a night like that is a good one to skip the fire.

Why it is worth fixing

The smoke is more than a nuisance. Smoke is a mixture of gases and fine particles produced when wood and other organic materials burn, and the biggest health threat from smoke is from fine particles.^[7] AirNow says fine particles can cause burning eyes, a runny nose and illnesses such as bronchitis, and can aggravate chronic heart and lung diseases.^[7] A drier, hotter fire usually makes less of it. A smoky fire is also the kind that draws complaints, and in Fairfax County the Fire Marshal can order a fire put out when its smoke causes a traffic hazard.^[1]

Once the fire is out, deal with the ash safely. Fairfax County's rule for portable fire pits is that ashes must be thoroughly dampened and cooled, then put in a covered metal can or other noncombustible container used only for ash,^[2] and hot ashes may not go in a combustible container.^[2]

If the smoke problem is an indoor fireplace instead, why a fireplace smokes into the room covers drafts and chimneys.

Stop and call a pro if

• You smell gas at a gas fire pit or fire table. The natural gas delivered to Virginia homes contains an odorant that makes it smell like rotten eggs. If you suspect a leak, the State Corporation Commission's advice is to leave the area on foot immediately, do not touch light switches, electronics or appliances, and call 911 or local emergency services from a safe location, then the gas company's emergency number.^[8]
• A gas fire pit or fire table smokes or leaves soot. That points to a burner or fuel problem, and gas work belongs to a licensed fitter: Virginia's Board for Contractors certifies gas fitters as a regulated trade.^[9]
• The pit holds water after rain or has no way to draw air and you want it rebuilt with drainage or vents.
• Blocks are cracking, crumbling or shifting from heat. How to keep a fire pit from cracking explains liners and repairs.
• The pit sits too close to the house, a deck or trees, so smoke and sparks reach them. Are backyard fire pits allowed in Virginia covers distance rules.

Good wood solves most of this. Browse firewood delivery, fire pit and fire feature businesses, or more concrete and hardscaping answers.

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