Town Of Fenwick Island, Delaware
The Sullivan’s Island Town Council will consider banning bonfires on the only beach in South Carolina that still permits them.
Fire Chief Anthony Stith told members of the Council at their Aug. 15 meeting that he would recommend doing away with all open flames on the beach for a variety of reasons, among them safety, the administrative headaches connected with issuing permits, the possibility that fires could spread to the Maritime Forest, the debris that some people leave behind and the problems fires could cause for the turtles that nest on the island.
Council members were not in complete agreement concerning the possibility of banning bonfires. The issue will be studied by the Public Safety Committee, which includes Mayor Pat O’Neil and Council Members Scott Millimet and Carl Hubbard, and a decision on the subject eventually will be made by the entire Council.
Town Administrator Andy Benke explained that permits for bonfires on the beach cost $25 for residents and $100 for nonresidents – along with a refundable $500 security deposit.
Stith said that between July 2021 and June of this year, 649 permits were issued. He noted that during the year that ended in July 2022, 115 permits went to islanders and 187 to off-islanders. Nonresidents also requested more permits than residents in the year ending in June 2023 by a 254 to 93 margin.
Fires are not allowed on holiday weekends, Stith said, “because there are just too many people here on the island.” He added that since most people choose to build bonfires on weekend nights, there could be four of five of them burning at the same time.
Those who build bonfires, which are limited in size to 3 feet by 3 feet, are required to haul off the debris, but Stith said many of them simply bury the remains. Unfortunately, the wind and tide often uncover the remnants of the fire, which can be a problem for people as well as wildlife.
"This can cause issues with the turtles when they bury their eggs, and we worry about someone stepping on a hot ember or a piece of wood that might have a nail in it,” Benke said. “A kid might step on an ember and get hurt.”
Stith said he’s also concerned about the possibility of fire spreading to the accreted land and the smoke that drifts into nearby homes.
And then there are administrative issues. Benke said town staff must take the time to approve the permit and deal with the security deposit, while a police officer or fireman has to go out the next morning to inspect the area.
“The process is pretty time-consuming for staff,” Benke said.
“We’re checking the fires the next day, but if we have a wreck or something, we might not get out there for a couple of hours. And if we get a call that somebody didn’t take their trash from a fire, if we have four or five that night, we wouldn’t know which one to check on,” Stith added.
Council members apparently want to study the issue further. Justin Novak suggested that restrictions could be put in place that would limit the risk that the fires could spread, pointing out that “on the other side, it is a nice community thing that people do.” Jody Latham said she supports the idea of banning bonfires but that “maybe we could look at exceptions for large organizations or a town bonfire.”
“Allowing just random residents to have fires – I think that time has passed,” she said.
Hubbard said he has heard from some of his neighbors who oppose banning bonfires and encouraged the Council to give islanders the opportunity to suggest “when and where it might be appropriate to have fires that could be better monitored.”
“We need to go that route instead of just coming in and shutting it down automatically,” Hubbard commented.
“If we’re the only public beach in the state that allows fires, we might as well put a sign out that says ‘come have a fire here,”’ Millimet said.
