Parks Workers Again Set Fire to Beach Debris

Oxnard parks crews spent another morning Monday burning wood and other junk washed ashore by winter and spring storms.

The burning, criticized by some conservationists who argue the material should have been sorted and recycled, started about 4 a.m., when crews used car flares to ignite about half a dozen piles of beach debris, city parks officials said.

The debris was collected from about 1 1/2 miles of city beaches that run from Oxnard State Beach to 5th Street.

“It’s just incredible the amount of debris that piled up on the beach,” said Oxnard city parks chief Michael Henderson.

Smoke from Monday’s fires could be seen from across western Ventura County, and the county Fire Department responded to one call before learning the source of the smoke.

Although some environmentalists argue that Oxnard should have followed the city of Ventura’s example and turned the vegetative debris into reusable mulch, Oxnard officials chose the quicker and cheaper option of burning the material.

Henderson said the city waits for an OK from the state Environmental Protection Agency before burning.

All the fires have been lit on an uninhabited stretch of beach between the Southern California Edison plant and the community of Oxnard Shores.

City parks crews surround the burn areas with yellow caution tape and stand by with tractors and fire extinguishers in case the fires got out of hand.

“We haven’t had any problems,” Henderson said.

The burning began at the end of May and could end as soon as today, when city officials will seek approval to burn the last of the debris--two 7-foot-high piles.