We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember The Natural Philosopher
saying something like:

Heh. Chimney creosote fires are a hoot, don't you know?
Yup..

;-)

That;s no so much an issue with stoves though.. insulated liners reduce
condensation. You just shower the neighborhood with dioxins instead. ;-)

Everything has a drawback. I'm reminded of the double-oven Rayburn I
converted back from oil to run on solid fuel and fed with timber off the
hill at the back of the farm - that, and coal waste from the old coal
mine up the back. Cracking stove that was, and produced some wonderful
bread from those ovens.
One day there was a continuous roaring noise that rose in pitch until it
was like a jet engine whining away - the creosote and resins in the
chimney (unlined) had caught fire and continued to burn for a while
after I shut the dampers off. Luckily the chimney was in good nick and
the building didn't go up, but I was more careful about chucking
unseasoned wood on it after that.

Of course if everybody starts burning wood - or coal - again, it will be
back to 50's smog levels. And a new Clean Air Act.