Smoldering Dangers

Last week’s sudden outbreak of hot weather should serve as a reminder that fire season isn’t far away. The blaze in San Clemente two weeks ago, in turn, demonstrates the need to clear brush from homes. And the rash of serious burns from smoldering fire pits at Orange County beaches this summer shows once again the need to take care around fires and ensure that they’re extinguished before picnickers move on.

Officials said 10 people were seriously burned in the fire pits in two months this summer. Most of those hurt were youngsters. The injury tally was higher than the annual totals for the last two years.

Many of us learned long ago that one way to extinguish a fire on a beach is by pouring sand on the coals. It turns out that’s wrong.

A co-director of the UCI Regional Burn Center in Orange said the coals beneath the sand will continue to smolder longer than if they are left exposed. The effect of sand on coals is to create an oven. Worse, children playing on the beach assume they’re walking on sand, not realizing there are hot coals underneath.

Fire officials said the best way to extinguish a fire is the classic way: Pour water on it.

All state beaches in Orange County have concrete rings where fires are to be built. It’s illegal to build fires outside those rings, which are clearly marked “Danger Hot Coals.”

In San Clemente, fire officials said some residents near the fire that burned five condominiums along a coastal canyon did not have the required buffer zone cleared of coastal sage and other native vegetation.

Those shrubs provide fuel for fires and contributed to the rapid spread of the flames, which officials said may have been set. Fire codes require homeowners to keep a foliage-free perimeter of 30 feet or more to let firefighters take up positions. It’s also smart to keep plants that provide fuel for fires as far from homes as possible.