San Francisco Fort Mason Trashed During July 4th Celebrations
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Mounds of trash blanketed the Great Meadow at Fort Mason on Thursday, remnants of a July 4 celebration staff at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area believe the crowds purposefully and wantonly left behind.
"It's kind of a shocking mess. We've actually never seen conditions this bad before," said spokeswoman Alexandra Picavet, surrounded by staff in gloves clearing empty bottles and barbeque leftovers.
She pointed to brand new coolers and grills just out of boxes that were also left behind, much of it clearly bought at the nearby Safeway without any thought of keeping it.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
Picavet characterized the Independence Day waves of people that steadily grew after 2 p.m. as a "trash mob" loosely organized by social media that did not inculcate the pack in, pack out mentality common at national parks and other public resources.
Ironically, Fort Mason first experienced the phenomenon, albeit on a lesser scale, on Earth Day, Picavet said. The July 4 mess could lead the National Park Service to draft new rules on picnics and day use in the GGNRA, including an outright ban on alcohol, she said.
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