Good news, fire fans: it looks like Newport Beach will have to keep its fire rings. A California Coastal Commission report released this week recommends that the rings should remain on the beach, despite Newport's desire to remove them (it can't just pull them out because they sit on commission-controlled land). The LA Times quotes the report as saying that removing the rings would deny the public access to a "popular form of lower cost public recreation," and that it would shift already high demand to other sites along the coast. Newport has been looking to get rid of the rings for years, and their most recent application to have them removed cited the health effects from the particulate matter in the wood smoke as a reason to do away with them. If this latest bid fails, Newport Beach will likely throw in the towel: "I don't think there is a Plan B," says one councilmember. The Coastal Commission votes next week.
· State staff recommends keeping Newport Beach fire rings [LAT]
· Newport Beach Fire Pits Will Stay For Now, Could Be Gone Soon [Curbed LA]
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