In a classic case of, "this is why we can't have nice things," the National Park Service has once again been forced to reevaluate the allowance of bonfires on Ocean Beach. This Thursday, February 5th at 6 p.m., the NPS will host a public meeting at the Cliff House to discuss the current situation and take suggestions from the public. Rampant violations, including fires outside of designated pits, glass bottles, and burning nail-riddled pallets, have brought about threats to ban fires in the past. These issues, combined with thinly stretched resources, led to a restricted curfew of 9 p.m. and have proven too much for the authorities to handle.
The bonfires have plenty of community support with commentary from the last meeting being, "upwards of 90 percent favorable" according to Carmen Mauk, a founding member of Burners Without Borders. BWB has been integral in keeping bonfires alive after the first conflict with the NPS in 2006. The sculpted metal fire pits were created by artists working with BWB and were seen as an acceptable compromise to keep bonfires orderly. Representatives from BWB will be at the meeting pushing for fewer restrictions and more fire pits.
Howard Levitt, director of communications for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area told the Richmond ReView, "We want to share the information we gained and that's where we'll begin. Then we'll talk about an array of options going forward. It ranges from no fires up to fires under certain conditions. The status quo is not working; the status quo is not an option. It needs to improve and we want to talk about how to make that happen." The park service is open to ideas and no one wants to see the fires banned. It's up to you to tell them what should happen.
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