Beach fires banned after midnight

The National Park Service issued a ban on beach fires between midnight and 6 a.m., effective Monday.

The new rules apply to all beaches at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

A spokesman said, "The time restriction will allow visitors to continue to enjoy the experience of having a beach fire, while improving the management control of the problems associated with late night fires.”

According to the park service rules,

• Beach fires should be no greater than 3 feet in diameter and should be built with untreated wood with no nails in it.
• Beach fires must be located below the mean high tide line, no less than 100 feet seaward of a vegetated dune.
• Reasonable quantities of down and dead wood, including driftwood, may be collected for fuel in beach fires.
• Use of water to extinguish the fire is recommended rather than burying the fire with sand. Sand burial insulates the fire and keeps it from cooling.