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Rules limiting beach bonfires to grow tougher
Parks department proposal aims to cut back on illegal blazes this summer

By CHRISTINE FREY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The bonfire had been burning for maybe 20 minutes when the firefighters showed up.

A group of friends had gathered for a birthday celebration at Golden Gardens Park on a recent evening and sat talking as the sky darkened around a small fire they had built on the sand -- not in a fire ring.

Young visitors to Golden Gardens Beach burn Duraflame logs in an illegal fire pit. People who build bonfires outside the designated fire rings cause a headache for parks officials and often leave a mess for maintenance workers to clean up. Golden Gardens Beach currently has 12 fire rings for bonfires, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

That's not allowed, the firefighters explained.

One of the firefighters shoveled sand over the flames, then walked over to another nearby illegal fire.

"That's so sad," Karen Boun, 19, said as she watched the firefighters approach the next group.

Golden Gardens, one of two Seattle beaches where bonfires are allowed, is often lit at night with such fires. Seattle Parks and Recreation is moving to crack down on illegal fires and problems associated with the popular summer pastime.

Parks and Recreation Superintendent Ken Bounds is expected to sign two new rules a week from today.

One of the proposed regulations would make firewood and charcoal the only legal fuels for burning in a city park. The other calls for a member of the parks department to staff the Golden Gardens parking lot to control traffic, which can be heavy during the summer.

The parks department will hold a meeting tonight at the Golden Gardens Bathhouse to provide information on the proposed rules.

Parks commissioners last year considered banning bonfires altogether.

Instead, the board decided to place Golden Gardens on "probation" and step up efforts to educate the public about where bonfires are permitted -- only inside fire rings, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

When people build bonfires outside the fire rings, Fred Schauer deals with the mess.

The parks maintenance employee spends three to four hours every workday picking garbage from the sand and emptying garbage cans.

During the nine years that he has cleaned up the Shilshole Bay beach, he's seen evidence of people burning "anything you can think of inside of your house, including the house ... all the shingles, tile, drywall, two-by-fours, carpet, everything like recliners, couches, beds, coffee tables."

Once, he found half a fiberglass boat on the beach, the bow still burning.

The situation is not as bad as it used to be, Schauer said, but some people still burn items that are bad for the beach, such as wooden pallets, which are chemically treated and leave nails in the sand.

At the end of the summer, parks staff will report to the commission on how the public complied with park regulations; based on that report, the commission could make new recommendations, said spokeswoman Dewey Potter.

In the meantime, the fire rings will be removed from Golden Gardens for a beach cleanup a week from today; a machine will be brought in to sift the sand and new sand will be added.

When the fire rings are replaced a week later, there will be only 10 at Golden Gardens. The parks department is removing two rings because the smaller number will be easier to manage, Potter said.

No bonfires will be allowed at Golden Gardens the week the fire rings are removed for the cleanup.

Alki Beach Park, the other Seattle beach where bonfires are allowed, has six fire rings.

Delbert Orr, who recently moved to Seattle, said he thinks there should be more fire rings, not fewer.

His family laid claim to one at Golden Gardens around 4:15 p.m. on a recent weekday -- four hours before they started their fire. Once all the rings were taken, people set fires on the sand, Orr noted, as he enjoyed his own bonfire just after sunset.

"I think if there were more pits ... they wouldn't be so tempted to do that," he said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Seattle Parks and Recreation will hold an open house from 6 to 8 tonight at the Golden Gardens Bathhouse to provide information about new park rules. The bathhouse is at 8409 Seaview Ave. N.W.

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