Monterey Police will stop warning and start citing for illegal campfires on Del Monte Beach.

For some time now, residents neighboring Del Monte Beach – the only Monterey Peninsula beach that allows bonfires on weekends and holidays – have complained about poor air quality, crime and vandalism.

Though there are clear signs at the beach stating fires are illegal after 10pm, and that parking is prohibited after dusk, some residents say the rules are rarely obeyed.

Richard Lind, president of the neighborhood association, says people have dismantled city-owned fences and ripped planks from the boardwalk to feed fires, and that needles, empty beer bottles and used condoms are often left throughout the upscale neighborhood.

On Sept. 14, sand peppered with ashes could be seen throughout the beach – evidence that numerous fires burned outside fire rings over the weekend.

According to city regulations, any fire outside of a fire ring is illegal. When Monterey City Manager Michael McCarthy was asked if the city plans to add more rings, he said no.

But when it comes to enforcement, there are plans to do more. Monterey Police Chief Dave Hober says police will move away from warning people to citing them for burning fires outside of rings. An illegal campfire citation costs about $50.

“We are finding that we have not changed behaviors, so we are going to make the change,” says Hober. “People are not going to be happy with the police.”

With the recent bonfire ban extension in Carmel that prohibits fires on weekends and holidays at Carmel State Beach – a move that appears to be making the beach more exclusive to locals – more people are visiting Del Monte Beach.

“Every summer we see an increase in traffic as it is one of the few remaining public beaches that offers access with free public parking,” says Sean Brownlee, a local resident.

Lind is trying to gather support for an overall bonfire ban at the beach, or move them somewhere else.