Beach bonfires have been a popular tradition in Southern California since the 1940s but beachgoers might soon find that their beloved fire rings have been removed.
According to Fox News, bonfires are being targeted by state officials who believe they have negative health consequences are bad for the environment. In an attempt to clean the air quality in Southern California and curb global warming, officials are asking for the pits to be removed and the activity to be banned.
"One fire pit burning one night, a few hours, a couple bundles of wood, emits as much as one average diesel truck on the road today driving over 500 miles," Dr. Philip Fine, of the Southern California Air Quality Management District told Fox.
Officials want to remove the concrete pits along the beaches from San Diego to Los Angeles. Fine said a lot of studies have been done that shows that fire wood is bad for a person's health adding that the neighbors who live close to the pits have been complaining of respiratory problems.
"There's people living very close to these fire pits who tell us that they have smoke in their house, that they have respiratory problems, and this causes them to aggravate those respiratory problems," Fine said.
The proposal to ban the bonfires has outraged a lot of beachgoers in California. Facebook support groups have sprung up as well as a petition on Change.org and a website, savethebonfirerings.com, asking for support.
"I would be super bummed if the banned bonfires on the beach because it's such a California thing," said Los Angeles resident Liz Corona. "It's such a fun, social thing to do with friends. And, um, I feel like it's not really any harm, so why would they ban them?"
"We're just out here, having fun, hanging out, not doing anything bad," another beachgoer told Fox. "There's so many other ways we can protect the environment, this just doesn't seem like a very good one."
