The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) has extended their pilot program, to address fires along Ocean Beach. In the past large fires by evening visitors, including broken furniture and wooden pallets, left debris in the sand, including broken glass and nails. As part of the pilot program fires must now be extinguished by 9:00 PM, and 12 new fire rings have replaced the 5 existing rings, which have been removed. Some fire rings are full of sand, and the National Park Service believes that visitors are attempting to extinguish the fires with sand, however this only insulates the coals and keeps them hot until the next morning. This is a safety hazard to NPS staff charged with cleaning the rings.

Some observers have seen as many as 25 fires on the beach at one time before the pilot program was initiated. The previous fire curfew has been 10:00 PM. At the end of October, the GGNRA staff will evaluate data, and assess the effectiveness of the pilot program.