Coastal Commission Staff Says Fire Rings Should Stay

The California Coastal Commission staff is once again recommending the 60 fire rings in Newport Beach stay in place, according to a staff report issued Friday.

The city of Newport Beach Staff requested permission from the Coastal Commission to nix its 27 rings at Big Corona Beach and the 33 near the Balboa Pier, but in the report staff recommended rejecting the request because removal would deny the public access to a lower cost public recreation, according to the report, and would "shift the already high demand for fire rings to other coastal locations, creating new access and recreation demands there."

Coastal Commission staff made a similar recommendation in February.

Newport Beach officials maintain the fire rings should be removed because they present health and fire risks to nearby residents, as well as safety risks to beachgoers and residents who could be burned by hot ash from improperly-extinguished fires.

The Newport Beach City Council voted in March 2012 to remove the concrete fire rings, and followed up with an application to the Coastal Commission asking for permission to get rid of the fire rings. Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, who originally voted for the removal of the fire rings, recently changed her position and said she agrees with the staff recommendation.

"Coastal staff views the fire rings as a longstanding recreational amenity that should remain accessible to all Californians," Daigle said.   

The South Coast Air Quality Management District originally proposed a ban on all fire rings in Orange and Los Angeles counties, but in June its staff announced potential changes that would allow each city to remove its fire rings if deemed a public nuisance, banning any fire rings lying within 700 feet of a home and requiring the distance between fire rings to 100 feet or 50 feet apart in cities that have less than 15 fire rings.

If the AQMD proposed changes are approved by its board, all of Newport Beach's fire rings would have to be removed as well as 30 in Huntington Beach.

Last month Mayor Keith Curry said the city would work with the AQMD to install five non-wood burning fire rings at Big Corona Beach and five at the Balboa Pier area to help preserve the tradition of beach fires.

Curry said Monday the Coastal Commission staff should wait on making any recommendations.

"I think the Commission would be well advised to wait until the AQMD has considered this issue and the clean fuels demonstration project can be fully developed for consideration," Curry said.

The Coastal Commission will decide whether to grant or deny Newport Beach's application to remove its fire rings at a meeting on July 11. A decision regarding the AQMD's proposed changes is scheduled for its board meeting on July 12.

What do you think should happen to the fire rings? Tell us in the comments.

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