It's never hurt mine. Smoke usually goes upwards--the occasional gust can make it go sideways, but it still rapidly dissipates.

Some plants do not tolerate smoke well.

We lost every white pine the year that for health reasons the leaves got away from me, were too thick and I was concerned about fire risk. The fire chief recommended a controled burn.

Every white pine died. Not from fire or heat but smoke.

I'm interested to find if anyone knows if the same is true for toms.

Were the leaves that were burned on the ground among the white pine trees? If so, the pine tree roots could have sustained damage - they are very shallow-rooted - and caused your trees to appear to have died from smoke damage. If not, how thick was that smoke, and how old were your trees? Maybe tiny baby trees wouldn't survive a choking smoke.

A little barbeque smoke shouldn't be an issue. Just don't set the deck on fire.

Daria, They were young trees but not babies. 10, 12' maybe and raked out past the drip line.

The smoke was probably thick at times but nothing like burning in a pile.

Then I found this while trying to figure out what happened,

'White pine is sensitive to air pollution. Therefore it
is not a good choice for planting in city conditions.'

I'm not in the city but they got a concentrated dose that day.

Here is a link that might be useful: Needled Evergreens

Also, I have a wide mix for visual and pest/disease control reasons.

Only the white pines were affected.

i would be more concerned with teh maters getting too clsoe to the heat than the smoke, BBQ smoke dissipates quickly unless you are one of the folks that think it ain't done til it crunches!

personally, i prefer my beef the old fashined way, knock his horns off, drag his butt thru the fire, and throw him on the plate!

BBQ smoke always enhances the flavor of my toms. I try to plant the tomatoes about 1.113 feet away from the hottest part of the grill to ensure they do not burn. I constantley use tons of NITROGEN fertilizer to encourage growth and fruit set in the roasting conditions. After the flowers bloom I use a gallon of blossum set spray per plant to encourage well developed extra large tomatoes as well as a good deal of dilute bleach to sterilize the roots and protect them from fungus. Moreover, I always fing it beneficial to add copious amounts of warm(not hot)bacon grease as a fertilizer to the topsoil below the plants. The bacon grease is best apllied 30 minutes after frying to ensure a good micronutrient content for the young developing roots.For non-pork eaters chicken grease can be applied with nearly as effective results. After the fruits have set they can be encapsulated in a closed system(such as empty 2 liter bottles of pop)and allowed to grow in an "air conditioned environment". It is best to leave a small hole at the top to allow efficient entry of BBQ smoke. After about 9 months in the smoke filled "tomato green house" the greenies should be picked and placed in the freezer for 6 months. When defrosted you should have a very "smoky flavored perfectly delicious mater", JK.

Vince