All garbage, all the time. That wasn’t the original vision we had for Bernalwood; This blog was supposed to be all about deep glamour, conspicuous consumption, and fabulous stories about Bernal Heights glitterati. And soon, Bernalwood hopes to return to our usual vacuity. But today, after a miserable string of four (4!!!) illegal dumping incidents during the last week, trash is the topic of the moment. Even the San Francisco Examiner has taken note:

The wee hours of Wednesday morning marked the fourth time in recent months that a dump truck has quickly rolled up the peak, dumped a load — in a handicapped parking space, no less — and rolled back down into obscurity. All in a matter of 10 minutes.

And then, over the weekend, the hill experienced three additional brazen dumpings; one ended with a pile being set ablaze. On Sunday morning, a trail of household filth could be seen leading to a charred mass of hot garbage.

A local blog — Bernalwood — is on the case, along with neighbors who have mounted a camera on Folsom Street and have even solicited help from a “forensic architect” to provide clues on the origin of the dumped material.

Supervisor David Campos has taken notice as well.

In a comment last night here on Bernalwood, Supervisor David Campos announced that he too is on the case:

I just saw this item and want you to know that we have alerted the Department of Public Works and the Police Department of the situation. Illegal dumping is unacceptable. I want to thank Bernalwood and everyone who informed us of this matter. We will do everything we can to deal with this promptly and will continue to monitor the situation. Thank you again.

And what of the investigation? Suffice to say, tips and information provided by Bernalwood readers have provided some very strong leads for law-enforcement to pursue. How strong? Let’s just say… this strong. We hope to have more — and more satisfying — information to share soon. But for now, it’s probably best for us to let the investigators do their jobs.

In the meantime, Bernalwood has a word of caution for any would-be illegal dumpers: You can sneak around in the shadows. You can drive under cover of darkness. But you cannot hide. There are many of us. We are watching. Bernal’s all-knowing, all-seeing Eye of Sautrito will find you. You have been warned:

IMAGES: Top, David Campos via Luke Thomas, Fog City Journal. Eye of Sautrito, by Joe Thomas.

Outrage.

That’s the only word that describes the feelings many of your neighbors experienced today when they awoke this morning to find another trash pile dumped on Bernal Hill. Last night’s was a doozy: The mess is so extensive that it blocks the southbound lane of Folsom at the intersection with Bernal Heights Boulevard.

Even worse, that was not the only new eyesore. On Friday night, someone dumped a pile of lawn trimmings and demolition debris a hundred yards east along Bernal Heights Blvd. between the Folsom parking lot and Carver Street. Then they set the pile ablaze.

One of our hilltop neighbors describes what he saw:

I woke up to a fire on Folsom in front of Bernal Hill Park. Someone had dumped and then set some debris on fire. Awesome. I called 911 and then walked outside to get a closer look but forgot my phone inside so no photos. Thankfully a fire truck arrived a couple minutes after I called and put it out before it could spread onto the hill.

And that’s not all. It appears someone dumped even more trash along the boulevard last night, leaving a miserable trail of household debris that stretches east from the burned-out trash pile all the way to the Vista Pointe Mini-Park:

Here’s a video that shows what it looked like to drive west along the boulevard this morning:

It’s like the frikkin’ early 1970s up there. Horrible.

So that’s FOUR illegal dumping incidents within one week. Yet if there is an upside to this string of horrors, it’s the fact that law-enforcement has taken notice. Bernalwood will not divulge details here, for fear of compromising any ongoing investigations, but suffice to say that more than one agency is involved. And of course, if you have ANY information that might be useful to the investigators who are pursuing these vile trash-dumping goons, you can send it to us at the usual email address. Bernalwood will ensure that all promising leads are forwarded to the authorities.

Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeethe.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics. Video courtesy of a Bernal neighbor.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Once again, shady contractors dumped a load of construction debris near the Folsom gate of Bernal Heights Park last night.

This morning our friends at Monkeybrains, our giga-awesome locavore ISP, captured the scene you see above. (Monkeybrains suggests checking the construction taking place on the 600 block of Peralta for a possible debris match. Note that this is merely one of many potential sources of the debris, NOT an accusation.)

Meanwhile, Neighbor Regina, who lives near the top of Folsom Street, was dismayed to find yet another trash pile dumped near her home. “My palms are sweating, I’m so mad,” she said this morning.

In response, she sent this email to Eric Andersen, the manager who oversees Bernal Heights Park for the SF Recreation and Parks Department:

Hi Eric,

It’s your favorite homeowner! 🙂

I’ve cc’d Todd Lappin, who manages Bernalwood. I figured you two should have each other’s contact info.

The dumpers have struck again.

In your honest opinion, what can we do about this? Is there a way to gate off that parking lot between certain hours?

I still haven’t had any luck with Joey at DPW regarding maintenance of their property. I feel like making this section look nicer will deter dumpers. If an area looks ignored, why not dump some trash there? Is there anyone else there who can help?

Thanks,

Regina

PHOTO: Courtesy of Monkeybrains