That familiar smell of a Southern California beach summer will waft in the air again over Aliso Beach after Laguna Beach lifeguards get woodburning fire pits back into the sand at the popular South Laguna beach.
The city took over the South Laguna beaches from the county a year ago; Aliso Beach is among the most popular beaches in the city for visitors, primarily because of its easy access from Coast Highway, bountiful parking, bathrooms and food at Lost Pier Cafe.
As part of the continuing services at Aliso Beach, the Laguna Beach City Council this week voted unanimously to bring wood-burning fire pits back to the sand. Until now, beachgoers could only rent portable propane fire pits from the nearby cafe.
Councilmember George Weiss argued the pits “pollute the air and water,” but still agreed to the new city ordinance that will allow the burning of the wood at the beach.
“It’s another amenity the city can offer that will draw people to the beach,” said Marine Safety Capt. Kai Bond. “It allows people to have that Southern California experience. The county had the pits for decades and we’re continuing the program. I expect it will bring even more people down there.”
In all, there will be seven concrete rings added, costing the city $2,000 each.
The rings are similar to those found at beaches in Newport Beach. They will be placed in the sand 100 feet apart and go from the midway point of the parking lot toward the rocks and cliffs at the south end of the beach. They will be at least 700 feet from the nearest home.
The pits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, and can be lit from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m., but no wood or accelerant can be added to the flames after 9 p.m., which is an hour before the beach closes. Once people leave the beach, the flames are left to burn out by themselves.
City crews will remove ashes.
When the county transferred the beach to the city, the only two remaining fire pits were removed. And, it’s possible over time and with sand erosion, others sank into the sand and were buried when new sand came back onto the beach, Bond said.
He added that because of the sand movement, the pits will likely be moved from time to time as sand shifts at the beach.
The pits will be installed by a Public Works crew and should be available by Memorial Day.
In related beach action, the council approved extending the trial period for skimboarding at Aliso Beach, a beach that has been the spot for the popular Victoria Skimboard contest for decades.
The trial period is helping lifeguards determine which spot along the shoreline is best for skimmers and allows them to keep swimmers and skimmers separate. Bond said a final decision on that will be made later this year.
The council also discussed beach signage, especially at Thousand Steps Beach, for warning beachgoers of the danger of the sea caves, which have become even more popular because of social media posts.
The beach has been the site of several drownings, and Councilmember Alex Rounaghi said he is especially keen on new language that might instill the threat of danger there more strongly.
“I’d like to come up with tougher language to make people more aware,” he said. “How many people have died there? I want to accurately inform people of risks.”
Bond said the language on the signage is being looked at and he added that there are plans to acquire a camera to give real-time views of the sea caves and secret pools, Other cameras – monitored by the city’s dispatchers – are already in place near the berm at Aliso Beach and overlooking the Pride lifeguard tower at West Street Beach.
The council also approved funding for routine beach maintenance in South Laguna to include weekly sweeping of the parking lots at Aliso Beach, staircase maintenance at other beaches, and weekly beach grooming, which consists of removing kelp and debris from the sand.
