A nonprofit group hoping to preserve wood-burning fire rings wants the Orange County Superior Court to stop the city of Newport Beach from removing them until a lawsuit on the matter is resolved.
The Friends of the Fire Rings announced its request for an injunction Monday in response to the Newport Beach City Council's Nov. 26 decision to reduce the number of wood-burning fire rings and participate in a feasibility study that looks at fire pits fueled by natural gas or propane instead of wood.
The group in November filed suit against the South Coast Air Quality Management District in an attempt to strike down parts of regulations the agency approved in July. Those rule changes include requiring a 700-foot buffer between fire pits and homes and limited use on days with poor air quality, and gave additional authority to cities to ban the rings.