An encampment fire, the second in four days in the Mission District, broke out at Julian Avenue and 14th Street on Monday morning around 1:26 a.m., according to the Fire Department.
Six or seven vehicles and one scooter nearby were damaged from the fire, San Francisco Fire Department Lt. Mariano Elias said. No one was injured. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Just three days earlier, on Friday, another encampment fire erupted on Stevenson Street just north of 14th, with smoke rising from tents and trees nearby, according to footage and photos provided by a neighbor.
Three vehicles were damaged, but nobody was injured, according to Lt. Elias.
That Friday, around 3:15 p.m., Desiree Barrera walked out of her hair salon to her car, a black BMW parked on Stevenson Street, only to find it in flames. People were filming, she said. “I ran back inside, grabbed my keys, ran back out, but my car was just already too much on fire.”
The car’s battery, located at the back right corner, caught fire first and exploded, leaving a hole near the right taillight. After the fire, people rummaged through her car and stole what was left inside, according to footage from her neighbors.
Barrera said she contacted the police department, the fire department and the arson task force, who said there will be no further investigation into her case.
In March, Barrera moved her hair salon, Proper Fox Studio, from the Financial District to the Mission after a $7,000 robbery. Since then, she said, she and nearby business owners have dealt with encampment barbecues, open fires on the street, rubbish and propane tanks being burned on the sidewalk.
Earlier in September, Barrera filed a 311 complaint to the city about the fires. According to the city’s data portal, the case was closed as a duplicate. The other case about the same issue was also closed on Sept. 19, claiming the area was cleared.
But for Barrera, the issue was not resolved: “Encampments on the streets are never cleared. And if they are, then they are back the next day,” she said.
There has been a surge in fires in the neighborhood in recent years, driven by uncontrolled barbecues, warming appliances and propane tanks, according to statistics compiled by the Fire Department and anecdotes from nearby residents, Mission Local reported last year.
“What is the answer, here?” Barrera wrote in a social media post with a picture of her charred car. “Is it time to finally close up shop with all the other businesses, and walk away from everything we’ve worked for?”
Ronen is pathetic and worthless; she only pays lip service to the worst woke causes like defund the police. On top of that she’s a self hating Jew…gleefully supporting Palestinian causes, while ignoring their hatred of Jews, which we’re now seeing in some of the most painful and blatant ways. She should be ashamed of herself.
I’m really hoping that our next supervisor understands that these tents are a menace to the working class people who are trying so hard to hold onto what we have! I will vote for anyone who is reasonable and knows that the neighborhood needs to be protected – not from gentrification, that horse has died! – but from being destroyed by the pro-drug, pro-homeless activists!
Okay, Morticia. Where do you propose that people go?
With due respect, she is not required to care about that. This question has validity when what you’re talking about is folks that are just kinda there not bothering anyone. We are talking about homes and businesses being burned down. In that context, your retort is ludicrous.