Lawmakers in Orange County are once again wasting their time with the fire pits located on the beach front, attempting to remove them, thus removing a fun activity for many local beach-goers.

The fire pits, which are located all across the beaches in Orange County, are being deemed health threats and safety hazards, as well as an issue to maintain.

A majority of the issues that are being brought up are in regard to people breaking laws that are not properly addressed. These laws include what types of wood can be burned, how to douse an active fire, and the toxins that the smoke supposedly pushes into the air.

Securing a beach pit has become a daunting task, as competition begins at dawn during the weekends. The small amount of available pits are snatched up quickly by trespassing guests who step on the beach before allowed hours, frustrating the beach police.

Establishing rules and properly working against trespassing while being more adamant on when people can and cannot be on the beach premises would, to start, abolish the issues the beach police feel are worthy of pit removal.

The police and lifeguards are expressing frustration with having to work harder in order to make sure people are not trespassing.

Isn’t that the point of a police force in the first place – working hard to uphold laws?

If the task of keeping people from breaking laws was easy, how many police officers would we need, if we need them at all?

The first step toward a safer and less chaotic environment around the fire pits is not removing them, which is penalizing the avid beach visitors who use the pits correctly and deserve to have them around.

Also, people need to be less foolish and leave a tidy environment behind when they leave the beach. Leaving nails from wooden pallets, burned coat hangers to toast marshmallows and endless soda cans is only causing problems, and making it easier for those opposing the pits to dislike the area.

Police and lifeguards should try to enforce a cleaner beach, and penalize people for littering even after sunset, which might rid the beaches of messy patrons all together.

There are many steps than can be taken that will not only keep the fire pits on our local beaches, but also promote a cleaner beach and nicer environment.

If they choose to just delete the pits automatically, they will not only be ripping away a fun activity to lure visitors to the coast, but also ridding Newport Beach of a past time which should not be removed.