After 10 months, Alki Beach fire rings have returned

| Coronavirus | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

(WSB photo)

11:20 AM: Seattle Parks announced last month that it would return the fire rings to Alki Beach by Memorial Day – and today, with the holiday weekend still two weeks away, they’re back. Thanks to Guy for the tip; we just went over for photographic proof. In the early pandemic weeks, Parks locked the fire rings to discourage “crowding and congregating,” and then removed them last July. Neither of those steps kept people from having beach fires; many nights in the ensuing months, we heard Seattle Fire crews dispatched to “illegal burn” reports. (During one recent callout, the arriving crew radioed to dispatch that no lives or property were in danger, so they were canceling the dispatch.) Here’s a recap of beach-fire rules; we’re checking with Parks to see when they’ll be officially open (unlocked).

2:34 PM: Not until Memorial Day weekend, says Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin.

JohnW May 13, 2021 (12:22 pm)

Air Pollution rings.

2 cents May 13, 2021 (12:30 pm)

Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring

S.A. May 14, 2021 (11:45 pm)

Ow, ow, ow.

MC May 13, 2021 (2:26 pm)

There is a sign near the bathhouse saying they will be unlocked on May 29.

WSB May 13, 2021 (3:52 pm)

Thanks; the story is updated – Parks replied by saying “Memorial Day weekend.”

StopCuttingDownTrees May 13, 2021 (2:46 pm)

Those rings NEVER should’ve been removed as the beach fires never stopped: they just became random, lawless, and hazardous to next-day beach-combers.

alkires1 May 13, 2021 (4:24 pm)

Removing the rings was a huge mistake and anyone who lives on Alki could have told you this before they were taken. Replacing them all bunched up on the end of the beach is also not going to curb on-beach fires. Keeping them locked is just silly. Who makes these calls!? so out of touch

Kyle May 13, 2021 (8:45 pm)

Agreed, did parks give any justification on why they are keeping them locked up two more weeks? Can’t be any covid restrictions difference between now and two weeks from now.

Stifled May 13, 2021 (5:31 pm)

Allowing beach fires at all ….in rings or out …is the problem. The impact on the air quality both at Alki and above in North Admiral is tangibly negative. When you want to catch a summer breeze and keep cool, you have to shut all your windows and run an air purifier if anyone in your family suffers asthma. It has been held as some sort of sacred tradition, but most cities in the US with either salt water or lake water beaches have banned these for years.