There aren't many memories as golden as those synced to the setting sun at Carmel Beach, bonfire picnic style, loaded with all the appropriate cheeses, wine and other sundries.
But bonfires could be a memory if debates drift a certain way with Carmel City Council.
Sara Rubin reported the first grumblings in September—my favorite month to grab Bruno's sandwiches or Cheese Shop cheese or Salumeria Luca charcuterie and head for 13th Street—when Tom Leverone, then-chair of the city's Forest and Beach Commission, led a push to introduce fire baskets and better patrol messes left by firestarters or even (gasp) halt bonfires altogether.
“I don’t necessarily want to be the first person to say, ‘We need to stop fires,’” he told the Weekly. “It’s been a tradition since the poets used to go down there. But why is it we allow people to come use our beautiful public space and then simply walk away from their mess?”
Last week the Carmel Forest and Beach Commission heard public debate over a moratorium while they work out a long-term plan for regulatory and enforcement tools.
Longtime Carmel resident Maggie Eaton told Rubin the number and size of fires have gotten out of hand.
“I don’t think people have an idea of how many people go down there and build fires,” she said. “Some are huge. With the density on weekends and holidays, it’s just becoming overrun. Charcoal is everywhere. Nobody likes that sort of thing.”
2. No glass. Cans are lighter, won’t break and pack down easier for hauling away.
3. Have a D.D. Rest assured that you and your vehicles have been noted by the local constabulatory and stand a very high chance of being stopped soon after departure. Nothing screams “DUI” like a carload of youth departing late from the beach.
4. Park wisely. Carmel and Asilomar have midnight cutoffs, unless you park further away.
5. Pack your trash; don’t burn it or leave it.
6. Don’t forget a flashlight (foraging for wood, finding your lost cell phone…), lighter, a beach blanket or towel.
7. Bring wood. It’s always worth it to scavenge leftover wood from others’ fires, but don’t count on it as your only source, or you could be huddling around a sad little pile of soggy coals instead of dancing around your own bonfire.
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