In January my brother has a party he calls "burning of the green". He goes around town after Christmas and picks up discarded live Christmas trees before the city picks them up and piles them up behind the house. (He is out of town now) He has had over 120 trees before. After dark he has his little welcome speech and sets fire to the trees. Dry Christmas trees burn like you just wouldn't believe. In just a couple of minutes the whole thing is ignited. It is difficult to describe. I'll try to find a picture, but that still doesn't do justice to the drama of the whole thing.
Nice fire pit, by the way. Looks...welcoming.