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Army Corps funds jetty safety upgrades; city clarifies beach‑fire rules
Summary
City staff said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will pay for new gates, signage, a wide thermoplastic warning band and cable upgrades at the lighthouse jetty; council also reviewed municipal beach‑fire rules limiting warming fires and requiring full extinguishment.
The Crescent City Council received an update from Director Yeager on a multiagency effort to improve safety on the lighthouse jetty and clarified local beach‑fire regulations.
Director Yeager told the council the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers developed plans to add a second gate, install matching caution signage and place a conspicuous thermoplastic band across the jetty to warn visitors that the area beyond is hazardous. "The management of the jetty itself is by the Army Corps of Engineers," Yeager said, and the Corps is paying 100% of the proposed improvements.
Yeager described the thermoplastic treatment as a wide, long‑lasting red strip across the jetty—designed so people will not miss that they are passing into a restricted, high‑risk area—and said crews will pretreat the concrete and apply the material similarly to road striping. The schedule provided to staff calls for the majority of work to occur in August and early September, subject to material lead times.
The project also includes upgrades to the cable system used by search‑and‑rescue teams; Yeager said some existing cables are not satisfactory and the contractor will submit a change order to address those items. He said the city has coordinated the construction work with search and rescue to maintain worker and public safety.
At the same meeting staff also restated the citys municipal code on beach fires (Mun. Code —.20.030) after recent public questions. Under the code, beach fires are prohibited on a stretch of shoreline running from Battery Point north to Preston Island (roughly north of Ninth Street). Where fires are permitted they must be warming fires no larger than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet high, placed at least 25 feet from vegetation, limited to organic materials, and fully extinguished before being abandoned. Burying coals is unlawful because of burn hazards to later beachgoers.
Council members praised the Army Corps for working with the city and noted the measures will not make the jetty impenetrable but should educate and deter visitors from entering high‑risk areas. Yeager said when crews are on site the public will be notified and the contractor will be visible during work.
Next steps: staff will continue to coordinate with the Army Corps on procurement and scheduling, proceed with the change order for cable work, and evaluate additional signage to clarify the beach‑fire boundary.
