SAN FRANCISCO—On Saturday, December 27, an illegal sideshow took place in the Outer Sunset District. At 3:45 to 4:30 a.m., residents in the Outer Sunset began contacting 9-1-1 in order to report loud engine revving, donut spinning and fireworks. There were reportedly 100 spectators at the scene.
At 4:30 a.m., the event reached its climax at the intersection of Kirkham Street and La Playa Street and 48th Avenue and Kirkham Street.
At 5 a.m., officers from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) arrived on the scene to scatter the crowd, but neighbors around the area expressed exasperation over the police response time.
During the event, spectators vandalized a U-Haul that was parked near 48th Avenue, shattering its windshield and setting fire from the inside. The U-Haul and its content, which was mostly furniture, belonged to a resident was destroyed.
The San Francisco Fire Department put out a fire on a rented U-Haul truck that some of the spectators started with Roman candles, which was towed away at 5:50 a.m. with the sideshow ending. One person was arrested in relation to the U-Haul arson, and the vehicle was impounded.
The event occurred after the city doubled up the costs of participation on sideshow events to $1000. In response to residents’ reactions to the sideshow event, the newly appointed Supervisor of District 4 Alan Wong met and spoke with them.
