San Diego families say a fire risk is growing in their backyards – NBC 7 San Diego

Several families in San Diego’s South Bay are invaded by weeds, trees and brush growing out of a 30-foot berm the city built more than 20 years ago. They say they can’t fight back anymore and that the city is not stepping up to help them.

You’ll sometimes catch Fred Threat getting some practice golf swings before the sun warms up in the morning. He hits toward his backyard fence, which is just about overwhelmed by brush and weeds creeping into his property.

“This right here is coming over, and I don’t want it here because of rats,” the Navy veteran said, pointing to a tree weed with branches draping over his fence onto his property.

Fred Threats points to a tree weed that’s growing smack in the middle of his fence and his neighbor’s.

He then walks to a second tree that’s smack in the middle of his fence and his neighbor’s, no longer on public land. He says its growing and spreading quickly.

Threat explained the problem began more than 20 years ago when the city placed a 30-foot flood berm right behind his property.

The land past the berm belongs to the county, and it has been well-maintained. However, the berm has been pretty much ignored by the city for years now, according to families living in this stretch of Atherton Ave.

“It was their promise when they put this thing back here that they would take care of it,” Threats said.

He added, however, that it’s been him taking care of it and fighting back the brush — not the city.

“I would put a ladder here and a ladder on the other side and cut it down myself,” he showed us, pointing to his chain-linked fence that serves as the only barrier between his property and the brush. “Last time I did that was like four months ago, and see, it’s already back.”

He showed NBC 7 Responds how some of the trees are just too thick for him to chop down with the tools he has.

“This thing here just grew like crazy. I‘d need a chainsaw to cut it down,” he said, pointing to what appears to be a 10-footer. “It gets dry right here, and all of this becomes a fire hazard.”

His neighbor, Alicia Navarrete, said the brush is taking a financial toll on her budget.

Alicia Navarrete shows a tree weed growing on city property with branches draping over her brick wall.

“They denied me (home) insurance because of this,” she said about a company she reached out to after her existing home insurance raised her premiums.

She said she’s also paid thousands of dollars over the years to get people to jump over her fence and clean it up.

NBC 7 Responds found nine “Get it Done” requests dating back to 2019, and six in the last year. They all ask for the same thing: remove the brush behind our homes.

The city of San Diego told us their records show they cleaned up the berm in 2017 and then again in 2022. However, they said there is currently no money to do it again and no way to know when there will be any.

And here’s another thing. Threat hopping over his fence to mow down the brush or Navarrete paying someone to do it, is not allowed by the city. They simply can’t take matters into their own hands this way. So then, what now?

Well, if the brush was on Parks and Rec land, they could fill out this form to get permission to go and do the work themselves. It’s a Right of Entry Application.

But the berm doesn’t fall under Parks and Rec jurisdiction, and the city admits, there is really no process in place for homeowners to get permission and clean it up.

Threats said he’s too old to keep doing it anyway and doesn’t plan on hopping over his fence like he did in February.

Alicia Navarrete and Fred Threats say they can no longer keep clearing the brush growing on city property behind their homes.

“That was the last time. I stepped on a hole right there, a squirrel hole, and I almost broke my leg,” he said, pointing to the exact spot where he almost fell.

He hopes the city finds the money quickly to clean it up. He says the fire risk only grows as the brush creeps in more and more into his backyard.

“Clean it up. Your promised to do it. Clean it up,” he said.

NBC 7 Responds reached out to Mayor Todd Gloria’s office and Councilmember Vivian Moreno’s to see if they can get a crew out there before it gets any worse. We’ll update this article once we get a response as we stay in touch with the families in that neighborhood.