DEAR ABBY: Please remind beachgoers that they need to leave their fire pits open and not cover them with sand. My 16-month-old grandnephew was walking on a beach in Carmel, California, with his mom and dad when he suffered burns to his feet from walking across sand beneath which were hot coals. It will take at least three weeks for this dear baby's feet to heal from those burns.
People don't realize that covering the coals with sand hides them and keeps them hot for up to 24 hours! Beach fires must be treated differently from those in a forest, where they should be covered with dirt because of the surrounding trees. -- BEACH ETIQUETTE
DEAR B.E.: I'm printing your letter not only as a warning to beachgoers who might be using fire pits, but also to the parents of small children because hot buried coals can be a hidden danger to their little ones. Because the coals cannot be seen, children sometimes confuse fire pits ringed by rocks with "sandboxes," and the results can be tragic.
According to the University of California Irvine's Regional Burn Center, "coals should be extinguished by drenching them with water, waiting five minutes and drenching them again." (Italics are mine.) When water isn't available, the coals should simply be allowed to burn out.