SeeCalifornia.com

Remember when a day at the beach ended with an old-fashioned bonfire? Those days are disappearing throughout many parts of the state as cities have begun removing bonfire pits. It’s a battle — homeowners and municipalities versus tourist interests–that has been going on for over a decade. Such is the case in Newport Beach and its beach community of Corona del Mar.

Several years ago California State Parks announced they were removing some fire rings at popular parks & beaches due to budget constraints. However, when the final tally came back, they kept the most popular rings at places such as Bolsa Chica State Beach, Huntington State Beach, and Corona del Mar State Beach, some top attended and revenue generating parks.

Now, Newport Beach citizens want rings removed from their state beach where multi-million dollar homes sits perched just within the range of the smoke trails from the bonfires. They cite allergies & pollution as their primary reasons for wanting them removed. It is the 2nd round in a battle over beach bonfires. The first one happened several years ago when bonfire fans received a reprieve. This past week Newport Beach  inched closer to permanently banning the fire rings. A 4 to 3 vote will be sent to City Council, asking them to remove 60 rings. At the meeting many residents asked for the rings to be removed, but no one  spoke in favor of the fire rings.

The council will discuss the suggested fire ring ban at a future meeting, but staff would have to obtain a California Coastal Commission permit before removing any rings. Big Corona State Beach has 27 rings, while the rest are near the Balboa Pier.  The City Council nearly removed the beach fire rings in 2009 decided not to. In  September 2011, Mayor Nancy Gardner recommended that the city revisit the issue again, partly because of a claim filed against Huntington Beach after a boy was burned at a fire ring there.  If you love bonfire rings, it’s your time to speak out to Newport Beach council members.