-
Mike Rabbitt and Margaret Mulligan walk past blackened branches and trees from a suspicious fire between the Polo Field and fly casting pools at Golden Gate Park.
Mike Rabbitt and Margaret Mulligan walk past blackened branches and trees from a suspicious fire between the Polo Field and fly casting pools at Golden Gate Park.
-
Yellow caution tape surrounds an area of charred lottery pieces of paper after a suspicious fire in Golden Gate Park.
Yellow caution tape surrounds an area of charred lottery pieces of paper after a suspicious fire in Golden Gate Park.
-
Mike Rabbitt and Margaret Mulligan walk past blackened branches and trees from a suspicious fire between the Polo Field and fly casting pools at Golden Gate Park.
Mike Rabbitt and Margaret Mulligan walk past blackened branches and trees from a suspicious fire between the Polo Field and fly casting pools at Golden Gate Park.
-
Elliott Lane climbs a hill after taking photographs of branches and trees charred from a suspicious fire between the Polo Field and fly casting pools at Golden Gate Park.
Elliott Lane climbs a hill after taking photographs of branches and trees charred from a suspicious fire between the Polo Field and fly casting pools at Golden Gate Park.
-
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-c',
container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-5',
placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 5',
target_type: 'mix'
});
_taboola.push({flush: true});
-
Caution tape surrounds an area of charred l paper after a fire in Golden Gate Park.
Caution tape surrounds an area of charred l paper after a fire in Golden Gate Park.
-
Data source: San Francisco Fire Dept.
Data source: San Francisco Fire Dept.
-
San Francisco averages about 200 fires each year, according to the data, with only three percent being three-alarm or greater. Total fires went up by 5 percent from 2016 to 2017, with District 1, which includes the Richmond neighborhood, seeing the largest bump from 6 fires in 2016 to 21 last year.
lessSan Francisco averages about 200 fires each year, according to the data, with only three percent being three-alarm or greater. Total fires went up by 5 percent from 2016 to 2017, with District 1, which includes
... more
-
The Bayview/Hunter's Point, the Mission and the Tenderloin lead all other SF neighborhoods in total fires since 2012. Together, the three neighborhoods have hosted about 28 percent of the 1,221 city fires reported since 2012.
lessThe Bayview/Hunter's Point, the Mission and the Tenderloin lead all other SF neighborhoods in total fires since 2012. Together, the three neighborhoods have hosted about 28 percent of the 1,221 city fires
... more
-
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-c',
container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-10',
placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 10',
target_type: 'mix'
});
_taboola.push({flush: true});
-
District 10 (Bayview/Hunters Point, Potrero Hill) and District 6 (Tenderloin, Mid-Market, SoMa) tallied the most fires with 210 and 201, respectively. The next closest was District 8 (Castro, Upper Market, Duboce Triangle) with 106 fires.
lessDistrict 10 (Bayview/Hunters Point, Potrero Hill) and District 6 (Tenderloin, Mid-Market, SoMa) tallied the most fires with 210 and 201, respectively. The next closest was District 8 (Castro, Upper Market,
... more
-
The number of city fires steadily decreased from 2013 until 2016 but then went up again last year. San Francisco experienced 1,221 fires between 2012 and 2017.
The number of city fires steadily decreased from 2013 until 2016 but then went up again last year. San Francisco experienced 1,221 fires between 2012 and 2017.
-
Instances of three-alarm fires or greater shot up in 2014 but have been on a steady decline ever since. Overall, just three percent of all of SF's fires are three-alarm or greater.
Instances of three-alarm fires or greater shot up in 2014 but have been on a steady decline ever since. Overall, just three percent of all of SF's fires are three-alarm or greater.
-
San Francisco has experienced 13 fires that were 4-alarm or greater since 2012.
San Francisco has experienced 13 fires that were 4-alarm or greater since 2012.
-
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-c',
container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-15',
placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 15',
target_type: 'mix'
});
_taboola.push({flush: true});
-
A map of residential housing density for San Francisco based on 2010 US Census numbers.
A map of residential housing density for San Francisco based on 2010 US Census numbers.
-
San Francisco firefighters battle a raging blaze on 22nd Street in the Mission District in San Francisco on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015. In 2017, the Mission experienced 16 fires — its lowest annual tally in more than half a decade — compared to 23 in 2016.
lessSan Francisco firefighters battle a raging blaze on 22nd Street in the Mission District in San Francisco on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015. In 2017, the Mission experienced 16 fires — its lowest annual tally in
... more
-
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-c',
container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-18',
placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 18',
target_type: 'mix'
});
_taboola.push({flush: true});
Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle
Mike Rabbitt and Margaret Mulligan walk past blackened branches and trees from a suspicious fire between the Polo Field and fly casting pools at Golden Gate Park.
Mike Rabbitt and Margaret Mulligan walk past blackened branches and trees from a suspicious fire between the Polo Field and fly casting pools at Golden Gate Park.
Six ‘suspicious’ fires inside Golden Gate Park in 24 hours
Six “suspicious” fires that sparked inside Golden Gate Park over the course of just 24 hours prompted officials to boost police presence in the park.
All fires, ranging from tiny blazes up to one that burned an acre, were in an isolated area near the Polo Field and the angling and casting ponds, between Metson Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
None of the fires threatened nearby residential and commercial neighborhoods, and no injuries were reported, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.
“San Francisco fire investigators (are) investigating (the) Golden Gate Park fires as suspicious,” San Francisco fire Lt. Jonathan Baxter said in a statement.
Two blazes broke out near the Polo Field on Friday afternoon, when the larger fire burned 1 acre, officials said. Both blazes were contained before 7 p.m.
On Saturday morning, joggers lingered on the trail overlooking the scene where blackened branches twisted up from black soil. A single sprinkler in the middle of the debris showered water in a circular motion on surrounding dead branches and shrubs located between the Polo Field and the fly-casting pools.
Some passersby, such as Elliott Lane of San Francisco, braved the rotating sprinkler and climbed to the base of the blackened earth, burned leaves crunching beneath his shoes with every step. He snapped some photos behind a charred tree.
“I live a mile away and heard about the fires from my roommate, so I came here to check it out,” Lane said.
Yellow caution tape circled a fire scene near the angling and casting ponds, where a bike frame and lottery tickets were found among scattered papers. It is unclear if that area cordoned off by tape is a separate scene or connected to the roughly 1-acre blaze beside the trail.
More than a dozen people lined the nearby ponds and cast their lines into the blue pools, despite the thick wildfire smoke swept in from the Camp Fire that blanketed the sky.
Park rangers and police officers from Richmond Station will patrol the area where the blazes originated, park officials said.
Fire officials are coordinating the investigation with the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.
Anyone with information about the fires may call the San Francisco Fire Department at 415-920-2933 or email firepio@sfgov.org. Callers may remain anonymous.
Fire officials advise parkgoers to call 911 if they see anything suspicious.
Lauren Hernández is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor
