Fire Pit Program

The tradition of beach bonfires has been cherished for generations by San Diego residents and our visitors. On summer nights, the fires glow like a string of jewels along the City's beaches and around the shores of Mission Bay.

In all, the City provides 186 concrete fire pits for the public's enjoyment. Those fire pits keep our beaches clean and safe while providing a source of entertainment for all ages.

Unfortunately, the fire pits are costly to maintain.

Each measures 5 feet by 5 feet and weighs nearly a ton, and cleaning them is full-time work for two City employees. They require a front loader and a dump truck to haul off the debris and ash -- and to avoid contact with the hot, hazardous and sometimes toxic materials thrown into the fires. The annual cost of maintenance, including salaries and equipment, is $173,000.

In 2008, the Mayor and City Council eliminated the Fire Pit Program from the budget as one of many painful steps needed to close a $43 million budget deficit. Then, just as the pits were being removed, an anonymous donor stepped forward with a $259,500 contribution - enough to fund the fire pits for a year and a half.

The donor's generosity was met with an outpouring of appreciation (for one example, see the letter below).

However, the donation has preserved the program only until June 30, 2010. After that, it's up to the rest of us.

After the City Council's vote to remove the fire pits, a number of San Diegans contacted the media with plans to line up private financing or hold fund-raisers to save the program.

From those ideas emerged this Web site, a central location where the community can raise the necessary funds to keep the Fire Pit Program open for many years to come.

If $173,000 is donated to the Fire Pit Fund by Dec. 31, 2009, the fire pits will have enough funding to assure their inclusion in Mayor Jerry Sanders' Fiscal Year 2011 budget (which covers July 2010 through June 2011). Money donated to this fund cannot be used for any other purpose.