An anonymous donor has stepped forward to help preserve the city’s beach fire pits, saving the San Diego tradition of sitting around a warm fire in the sand but also leaving questions about how to pay for other city services on the chopping block. City crews started removing the concrete fire pits Wednesday, Dec. 10, before an anonymous donor pledged about $259,500 through the San Diego Foundation to pay for the maintenance of 186 rings through the next year. Despite the stormy weather, Mayor Jerry Sanders made the announcement about the donation Dec. 15 at the lifeguard station at the foot of Grand Avenue in Pacific Beach. If economic conditions improve, funding to maintain the fire pits could return, he said. The city has about a year to match the donation to keep the pits operating past 18 months, he said. The donation saves two city staff positions selected for elimination in the face of a $43 million budget gap the city is working to close. “It’s still our city employees out there cleaning the [fire pits]. What this does is provide a funding source for that,” Sanders said. The two-man job requires the use of a front-loader and a dump truck and takes an average of 30 minutes per pit, according to a city statement. Each pit weighs nearly a ton and needs to be lifted so the ash and debris can be scooped, cleaned and taken to Fiesta Island. Park and Recreation Director Stacy LoMedico said the city has already started replacing the fire pits that were hauled away last week. The private donation raises the question of using private funds to pay for publicly owned city services, such as libraries and park maintenance, but whether it leads to more private dollars used for public services has not yet been determined, District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer said. “This is something we need to pursue from a city services [perspective], to explore avenues and possibilities,” Faulconer said. “Libraries are always one of the most used facilities.” Faulconer said he’s willing to look to private donations as a way to augment budgets needed to keep libraries and recreation centers open. The mayor proposed the temporary closure of about seven libraries and nine recreation centers in November. City council moved to keep the libraries, recreation centers and fire department services fully operating. This leaves the city with an estimated $53 million budget gap to tackle early next year. Sanders said private foundation dollars already help support public services, such as police and fire departments, where the money helps pay for costs like a Fire and Rescue Department helicopter, he said. Jim Heaton, a La Jolla Shores Association board member, had concerns that removing the fire pits along the north end of La Jolla Shores would result in illegal dumping of coals on the sand. Although he said members of the La Jolla Shores Association had been working to develop a program to help fund the fire pits, the identity of the anonymous benefactor remains a mystery. The city had as many as 450 fire pits in the early 1990s but slowly reduced the number over the years because of complaints, city officials said. By 2004, the city had eliminated about 66 percent of the concrete fire pits, leaving 150 at city beaches and Mission Bay Park. Since then the city has replaced some pits, leaving about 186 to maintain. Existing city fire pits: La Jolla: 7 Belmont: 5 South Mission: 11 Mission Point: 1 Bonita Basin: 6 Mariners: 8 Ventura Cove: 10 Sunset Park: 4 Dana Landing: 2 South Shores Park: 2 Ocean Beach: 9 Vacation Isle / North Cove: 19 Vacation Isle / South Side: 11 Ski Beach: 12 Crown Point: 16 De Anza Cove: 8 De Anza Boat Launch: 2 Playa Pacifica: 11 Hilton – North side: 2 Hilton – South side: 3 Fiesta Island: 37