An anonymous donor has donated over $250,000 to the city to keep the fire pits on the beaches until June 2010. The city needs to find a solution by late 2009 or the fire pits will be on the chopping block again.

We have formed a group to try to save the free amenities of the San Diego shoreline. If you are interested, please check out www.savethefirepits.com

FIRE PITS SAVED!!! (But only for 2009)
A big thanks to an anonymous donor!
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Thanks-Anonymous.html

Also a huge thanks to everybody who phoned and emailed the city and talked this up to the press!

We've all done it!

Several groups organized over the weekend to stop the removal of the fire pits while the city rushes to get them out.
We will have announcements shortly.

But for now...
The Mayor is holding a press conference today at 10:00 AM to discuss the fire rings.
If you haven't called the Mayor yet, do it now! (619) 236-6330

It's easy. Call (619) 236-6330 and politely tell the person who answers the phone: your name, your city/neighborhood, and that you want to save the fire pits!
You will likely be transferred to someone else to discuss it further, if you want.
The pits are used by people from throughout the city and the region. They make the beaches safer, containing hot coals that might otherwise be spilled on the sand.

City Fire Pit Fund

We have heard back from the city...and yes, they want $173,000 in contributions to save the fire rings. We'll be meeting with a couple community groups this weekend to discuss our options.

We are not giving up, but we are exploring our options.

If you are part of a community group interested in saving the fire rings, please send me an email at info@savethefirepits.com ASAP so that we can coordinate efforts. Individuals are certainly welcome too!

Thank you ALL for your comments here and on other web sites. We will try to get them in front of city representatives.

Fire pit fund?

We have tried to reach the person in charge of the Fire Pit Fund at the city of San Diego but we have received no response.
If any of you have had any luck, please let us know.

The city is looking for fire pit sponsors!

See the main site for details and contact information:
http://www.savethefirepits.com/

You can post your opinions on this here.

Copied from our main site:
There are now hundreds of irate comments to the Union Tribune article.
The Mayor's office is now looking for sponsors of the fire pits. Seriously, if you'd like to get information on this, please call Jenny Wolff (619) 236-7002.
My feelings are mixed on this, but I would cheer any sponsor who could keep the pits maintained at least until the new budget in July. If we can get through the off-season, we can make our case on the true value of the fire rings.
Sponsorship would be awesome for a local favorite like Rubio's or a beach favorite like Coppertone or Hawaiian Tropic (slogan: "Don't get burned!").
Maybe Viejas or Barona could step up as a title-sponsor for Fiesta Island while a few merchants associations might like to sponsor their local pits.

In general, I think the city should be paying for this. They could look at ways to reduce the maintenance time and redeploy the equipment operators part-time to the soon-to-be-cut sand grooming. The good reputation of our beaches is too valuable!

What people are saying about the fire pit removal

Thousands of postings are pouring into internet sites about the loss of the fire rings. Here are some:
Mini articles posted on our blog
Hundreds of comments made on the following Union Tribune articles:

• San Diego uproots fire pits amid salvaging efforts
  
• Fire pits latest to go on the city's chopping block 15 pages of comments

Several petition sites exist. You are welcome to sign, but you really need to phone your representatives now to make a difference.

• Petitionspot 125 signatures!
• Gopetition
• Petitionsite

This is a lead story today (Dec 11) on KPBS's "These Days" at 9:00 on FM 89.5. Also streaming live.