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Residents urge action on Tungsten Canyon brush and encampment, citing summer fire risk
Summary
Several La Mesa residents urged the council to address overgrown brush, recurring encampments and public‑safety risks in Tungsten Canyon, a privately owned but publicly sensitive canyon area. Speakers asked the city to coordinate with the property owner, begin phased brush management and not to delay work until costs rise.
Residents living near Tungsten Canyon told the La Mesa City Council on May 13 that the canyon’s brush regrowth and periodic encampments present a growing fire risk and urged the city to plan and budget for ongoing maintenance.
What residents described Longtime neighbors said Tungsten Canyon — privately owned but within the city’s jurisdiction for certain public‑safety interventions — has re‑vegetated after earlier cleanups and now contains dry brush and sporadic encampments that can be hidden from passing patrols. Resident Ted Childers and others provided photographs showing vegetation and temporary encampment sites. Childers told council the encampment “is behind a small ridge and cannot be seen from high street by police patrols going by,” and urged early, repeated maintenance rather than infrequent, large‑scale clearances.
Why it matters Speakers emphasized that dry brush on slopes is a well‑known summer fire hazard in San Diego County. Neighbors asked the city to develop a logistics plan to begin incremental clearance now, noting that sporadic, recurring maintenance is cheaper and safer than infrequent, major projects and reduces the chance of a fire moving rapidly upslope toward homes.
Council direction and next steps Neighbors asked the council to explore budget options to support phased maintenance, to coordinate with the private property owner and to empower public‑safety staff to work on a near‑term clearance plan. Several speakers asked for the city to prioritize the canyon for brush management in the coming budget cycle and to avoid multi‑year delays.
