Firefighters Burn Mounds of Beach Debris : Ventura: The fires consume about 20% of the 750,000 cubic feet of rubble washed ashore during the recent rains.

For the first time in 11 years, joggers, sunbathers and volleyball players shared beach space Friday morning with swarms of firefighters and mounds of smoldering debris.

Five piles were ignited at San Buenaventura State Beach as part of a health and safety plan to remove the bamboo, willow and weeds washed ashore during recent storms, officials said.

The six-hour burn consumed about 20% of an estimated 750,000 cubic feet of gnarly rubble, enough to fill a half-million wheelbarrows, said Jeff Price, chief ranger for the state parks Channel Coast District. “That would be a pretty big barbecue.”

In recent years, chunks of oak, sycamore and pine cluttering the shore have been collected by volunteers for firewood and mulching, Price said. But this year’s debris sat unclaimed. “It’s mostly non-woody material that nobody wants,” said Price, who oversees beach-cleaning efforts.

Winter storms ripped the plants from the banks of the Ventura River and sent them into the ocean, where currents drove them onto the beach, Price said. “It’s a real problem when you want to go barefoot and keep getting stuck,” volleyball player Darci Rodgers said. “We’re glad they’re cleaning it up.”

More than just an inconvenience for beach-goers, the sticks and stalks pose a potential health hazard, according to state environmental health biologists.

A report submitted after a recent visit said the debris could cause a “pest rodent problem” because squirrels and rats make their homes in the piles. Flies might also be attracted to fish carcasses caught in the rubble, the report said. Also, the report said a repeat of a recent torching of the piles by beach-goers would be “a definite public safety problem.”

Burning was the least costly option for disposing of the debris, Price said.

“It’s a lot cheaper than paying someone to collect it all and take it to a landfill where we’d have to pay to dump it,” he said. Collecting and dumping the debris would have cost about $20,000, Price said. He estimated that the total cost for burning will be about $1,500.

Open burning, which contributes to smog, is usually prohibited by pollution control regulations. An exception was made for the beach burnings because of the health risks from the debris, said Karl Krause, an engineering manager with the county’s Air Pollution Control District.

“The biggest problem is that the stuff stinks,” Krause said. “It’s been waterlogged and when it burns, it smells.”

The agency received six calls complaining about the odor, said Barry Mamaghany, pollution inspection supervisor. “People see this smoke going into their houses and they get upset,” he said.

Smoke from the burning rubble initially blew out to sea, but a midmorning wind shift sent thick clouds billowing over Ventura.

“I’m standing there watching the smoke go straight up in the air, arc and fall right on Ventura City Hall,” Price said. “And I’m thinking, ‘Why me?’ ”

Two or three more burns over the next couple of months will be necessary to clear the two-mile stretch from Surfers Point to the Ventura Harbor, Price said.

Once the burns are completed, “We’re going to have a wonderful sand year,” Price said. “The storms that brought all the debris have also brought a wide beach and really the best beach conditions we’ve had in a long time.”