The fire pits on California Beaches are getting harder and harder to find. Bolsa Chica State Beach is one of the last places with good access where a beach fire is legal. As our population grows, developers convince city councils to do things that make it easier for them to sell houses, or build businesses. They call this “economic development”.
This “economic development” led to the closure of Meadowlark Airport many years ago. It has also led to Huntington Beach attempting to become the Waikiki of Southern California with an over built main street area.
Closing the airport made it quieter in the area and made it easier to sell homes. Building up downtown meant more businesses and more income for the city council to spend. Seal Beach has kept the small beach town feel because it didn’t build three and four story buildings and hotels.
So how does this relate to fire pits, and why is this in the business section?
Well the people who are buying the new houses on the other side of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands are complaining about the smoke and air quality. The developers who want to build more houses and raise prices think that politicking for support from the California Air Resources Board to eliminate the fire pits will help them make more money. It’s simple business.
How?
To begin with they think it might reduce the number of people on the beach in the afternoons, and reduce the smoke that drifts over to the homes. Eliminating those two factors might lead to higher prices for the new houses they are building. These are the same people that years earlier wanted to build up downtown and bring in more people.
Society depends on civility among the people. The fire pits are a civilized and responsible way to enjoy a fire at the beach. I remember my first s’mores at a beach fire many years ago. That isn’t a tradition that is going to go away. Removing the fire pits will just encourage illegal fires which will lead to more trash on the beach, the potential of dangerous hot coals and more money spent enforcing an unneeded rule.
Keeping the fire pits gives everyone a safe place to go enjoy a sunset, cook a dog and a stick and enjoy a s’more. Isn’t that why we live here?
Don’t let the developers take any more away. Keep the fire pits, keep a sense of civility, and keep Huntington Beach Real.