Newport might get rid of fire rings

October 14th, 2009, 3:15 pm · 2 Comments · posted by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

firerings OC Register’s Jeff Overley reports that officials in Newport Beach want to get rid of fire rings in the city.

Here’s a bit more:

Citing impacts to public safety and the environment, Newport Beach is looking at doing away with its beach bonfire pits, a symbol of nighttime nostalgia now also associated with 24/7 headaches.

“Sometimes it’s a family thing, but also we’ve had a lot of issues with people staying till after the beach is closed,” said Councilwoman Nancy Gardner, leader of the push to remove the concrete circles.

“It comes to be that the fire ring is more of a party ring; we tend to get more drinking than if it were just a plain old beach.”

Read more from his story here.

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Austin Leahy says:

October 15, 2009 at 9:47 am

This is another example of city officials taking away a part of the beach from taxpayers due to ignorance. Fire pits are a great family time that gets kids away from computer games and cell phones.
Councilwoman Gardner forgets that her salary from the taxpayers comes mostly with Newport Beach being on the Pacific Ocean and all the property taxes,parking fee’s and taxes associated with being a beach destination. This is another item that the city council can add to what not to on the beach signs posted on every beach entrance in Newport. Fire rings might go the way of Drive-Ins, not because of real estate costs,but because the city council is not aware of how valuable family time is on the beach. Bad economic times have brought families together and fire pits are low cost way to get together. Please do not let the city council change this aspect of our lives.

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Nora LaRue says:

October 24, 2009 at 10:16 pm

The fire rings are unique and one of the simple things in life that are part of many beach family traditions. As others have said - forget the TV, cell phones, video games, etc. - the beach times will be remembered for the bonfires, hot dogs, good talk time and laughs. These are special gathering times. I realize there are some problems, but let’s find some solutions and not do away with a special tradition in our wonderful beach community.