I'd wager that 99% of you answered YES to the first question and NO to the second. In other words you are capable of recognizing danger and doing your best to avoid it. If that is the case then why do so many of our friends and neighbors choose to situate themselves and their family's adjacent to danger. Further, when, over an extended period of time this hazard is presented to them by experts, they choose to ignore the threat. In fact many have rallied against the very plans which, if implemented, would reduce this threat.

Here we are in San Francisco, a City with a history of fire, where tens of thousands of families and individuals choose to encircle a hazardous environment known as Sutro Forest. In recent years many have listened to and become confused by a campaign of rhetoric stating that the forest is safe from fire; its lush green environment is simply too wet to burn. The campaigners have further stated that the intention of proposed management plans to clear cut 60% of the forest and 90% of the understory is unnecessary and an unwarranted attempt to further develop the area. By all accounts those statements are false and great exaggerations of proposed management actions.

Sadly those statements and the claims found within have succeeded in delaying the implementation of a management plan which is designed to mitigate some of the most extreme fire conditions found within our City. Without the ability to address the existing conditions on Mount Sutro and provide some relief from the potential for fire, entire neighborhoods remain at risk. If you feel I've overstated the threat please take a look at the following article recently posted on KQED Science "Eucalyptus: California Icon, Fire Hazard and Invasive Species" and in particular the quote I've highlighted below. At the bottom of the article is another link to "Firestorm: the story of a catastrophic fire that struck the Tasmanian township of Dunalley January 4, 2013."

"At very high temperatures, eucalypt species release a flammable gas that mixes with air to send fireballs exploding out in front of the fire. With eucalyptus, you see these ember attacks, with huge bursts of sparks shooting out of the forests, Bowman says. “It’s just an extraordinary idea for a plant.”

I encourage you to explore the topic with an open mind and apply it to the conditions that can currently be found here in the heart of San Francisco. Further I encourage you to support the deliberate, measured approach that the University of California San Francisco has proposed within their Mount Sutro Open Space Management Plan.  CD