I would love to see back-yard burners banned ("To fight smog, give up that lawn mower?" April 24). We have enough bad particles in the air without contributing more for no good reason.

When I was a child, my dad burned leaves in the alley, as did others in our neighborhood. How things have changed. We were banned from burning leaves, and it proved to be a good thing.

Today, there's no good reason for having back-yard burners contributing to air pollution. Why they became popular and remain legal, I do not know. I have asthma and am terribly bothered by smoke.

Some people like to burn fires even in 90-degree weather. That means on a day I'd like to work in my garden, I have to stay inside with the windows closed.

SHARON A. JOHNSON, St. Louis Park