Fire Ban Proposed for Ocean Beach

By Paul Kozakiewicz

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is set to ban bonfires at Ocean Beach.

Fires are set to be banned because they contribute to air pollution and beach pollution, said Rudy Evenson, the GGNRA's Ocean Beach project manager, who has been studying the issue for several years.

People often burn pallets and other items that have nails in them, Evenson said. When the fire burns the wood, nails and other hardware are often left behind. People pollution, in the form of discarded glass bottles and other trash, was also a concern.

Evenson said he looked at having people sell wood to burn on the beach so there wouldn't be any debris left over from the blaze, but that option was economically unfeasible when a community partner could not be found to make the plan work.

Fires, which were once allowed throughout the length of the beach, first came to the attention of the SF Commission on the Environment, which passed a resolution concerning fires at its Jan. 15, 2002 meeting. Fires were limited in 2004 to the area between Fulton Street and Lincoln Way.

Evenson said staff made a recommendation to ban fires at the GGNRA's Feb. 28 meeting. A final decision, expected at the end of April or early May, will be made by GGNRA Superintendent Brian O'Neil. The decision must be made as a change in the GGNRA's Compendium, something only the superintendent can do.

Evenson said he looked at various ways to keep the fires blazing at Ocean Beach, including creating a series of fire pits on the beach. That idea was too expensive, he said, because permits would have to be issued and enforced. The cost of the permits could have been cost-prohibitive, more than $25, causing a decrease in the number of people filing for a permit.

"Beach fires are a spur of the moment activity," Evenson said, citing another difficulty with the permitting system.

Additionally, to crack down on illegal fires and to enforce the various types of fires that are permitted, at least four more rangers and two maintenance personnel would have to be added to the GGNRA's payroll.

In the end, after looking at four options: maintaining the status quo; instituting a 10 p.m. curfew to put fires out; creating fire rings and a total ban on fires, it was decided to recommend banning, Evenson said.

Public comment on the proposed ban will be taken until April 14. So far, Evenson said, about 45 people have commented on the new policy, including several from a men's group that has fires on the beach on Wednesday evenings. Most of the comments are opposed to the fire ban.

To comment about the Ocean Beach bonfire policy, call (415) 561-4723 or e-mail rudy_evenson@nps.gov.