Supervisor Knabe Pushes Back Against Proposed Bonfire Ban

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to oppose a proposed air quality regulation that would prohibit beach bonfires, saying the matter should be left to the discretion of local officials.

Supervisor Don Knabe, whose district includes Diamond Bar and Rowland Heights, proposed the resolution.

"From the time of the beach parties of Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, beach campfires are a low-cost, time-honored tradition and recreational pastime in the Los Angeles County area -- indeed, all of Southern California," Knabe said.

Knabe's colleagues agreed to send a letter of opposition to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which has proposed banning open fires on Los Angeles and Orange county beaches.

The matter was originally set to be heard by the AQMD board on Friday, but a new date has not yet been set.Fire rings have been in place at Dockweiler State Beach in the South Bay since before 1975, Knabe said, pointing to evening parking revenue as evidence that residents and visitors are willing to pay to sit around a nighttime bonfire.

Parking revenue generated after 4 p.m. at Dockweiler totals nearly $570,000 annually, about 43 percent of total parking proceeds at the beach, according to Knabe.

AQMD officials looking to tighten regional air quality regulations to meet stricter federal clean air standards for fine particulates say the fires are a health hazard. A spokesman cited "dozens of studies" and notes that the agency has been monitoring local beaches to assess the danger.

"Wood smoke contains toxic, cancer-causing chemicals as well as common combustion pollutants," according to the agency's preliminary findings.

In a phone interview, spokesman Sam Atwood said concentrations of pollutants from beach fires were found at be at levels where public health agencies typically issue warnings to the elderly and those with lung disease to stay indoors and might urge cancellation of outdoor events.

Pressured by homeowners who say they are bothered by smoke from evening beachgoers, Newport Beach officials have asked the California Coastal Commission for permission to remove 60 fire rings at Corona del Mar State Beach and near Balboa Pier, prompting the debate.

Knabe said the AQMD should let Newport Beach and Los Angeles County make their own choices.

"I would hazard a guess that Los Angeles County will choose to keep our beach fires kindled," he said.Atwood said it would ultimately be the AQMD board's decision, but countered that "AQMD's mission is to protect public health no matter where you live."

Knabe also questioned the agency's focus on health risks, pointing out that the district plans to exempt campfires on state park campgrounds and noting other environmental hazards around Dockweiler.

"Picking on beach fire rings due to their health risks seems to me to be one of the lesser causes of the various ailments that our residents and visitors might suffer," Knabe said. "We have airplanes taking off from LAX ..., automobiles driving on Vista del Mar atop the Dockweiler slopes, Los Angeles City's Hyperion wastewater/sewage treatment plant immediately across the street, and both the Chevron oil refinery and Los Angeles City's Scattergood power plant further south."

Atwood agreed that fires are "a relatively small contributor to all of the sources (of pollutants), however they do have a significant impact in a local area." 

Atwood said AQMD staff was close to providing an updated report to the board offering alternatives to a blanket prohibition on beach fires, including establishing a minimum buffer zone between bonfires and homes or a minimum distance between fire rings to prevent intense concentrations of smoke.

He said staff would also recommend demonstrations of natural gas and propane fire rings, like those used by scout camps in Southern California, as a possible healthier option.