Budget Shortfall Could Extinguish Beach Fire Rings

SAN DIEGO -- First it was beer, now it may be the barbecued weenies to get the boot from San Diego beaches, it was reported Saturday.

San Diego's City Council is being asked to save $173,000 a year by removing the concrete fire pits that have allowed generations of beachgoers to build fires in the sand, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has a $43 million budget shortfall to cover, and has recommended that the square cement firepits be removed to save maintenance costs equivalent to the expense of two city recreation centers.

Many beachgoers are aghast.

San Diego State University assistant professor Michael Roberts, a surfer who studies beach issues, told the Union-Tribune that removing the rings will damage San Diego's robust beach culture.

"Perhaps the people in San Diego would prefer to see cutbacks in the bureaucracy, like a top-level position that would cover that $173,000 a year?" he posed to the newspaper.

The fire pits are called rings because they used to be round, but are now 2-foot high precast concrete squares that are about 6-feet square.

Other than a few state parks with campgrounds, San Diego has the only beaches in Southern California where fire is allowed in the sand.

Last November, San Diego voters made permanent a ban on drinking alcohol on the beaches. Although derided by many residents as a severe impact on traditional beach recreation, the booze ban was favored by a majority of the city's voters, who had seen some large drunken brawls on holidays.