Eco-Terrorism Suspected as Fire Levels Construction Site
A radical group's initials are found on a banner nearby after a $20-million blaze destroys an apartment project in San Diego.
By Julie Cart and Monte Morin
Times Staff Writers

August 2, 2003

SAN DIEGO — A suspicious fire that tore through a construction site early Friday, destroying the wood skeleton of a five-story apartment complex, may have been set by an underground group that claims to combat urban sprawl, authorities said.

San Diego officials called in the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to assist in the investigation after they discovered a banner nearby reading, "If you build it, we will burn it," with the initials "ELF."

The initials are presumed to stand for Earth Liberation Front, a radical environmental group that has taken responsibility for torching development projects, sport utility vehicles, ski lifts and genetic engineering labs across the nation.

"We're still investigating what this banner or boasting means," Capt. Jeff Carle of the San Diego Fire Department's Metro Arson Strike Team said at an afternoon news conference.

The Times sent an e-mail to ELF's Web site seeking comment Friday, and received the following response:

"The ELF press office has received no communique for the San Diego fire that took place Aug. 1, 2003, and thus cannot answer any questions as to why this location and city was chosen for the latest ELF action. The banner at the site reading 'You build it — we burn it — ELF' is a legitimate claim of responsibility by the Earth Liberation Front."

The fire in the city's upscale University Town Centre district near UC San Diego caused no injuries, but sent flames 100 feet into the air. More than 400 residents of apartments nearby were evacuated. The sprawling construction site covered nearly 34 acres and was to include 1,500 apartment units.

Officials estimate the blaze caused $20 million in damage and burned with such intensity that it blew out glass panes and melted window shades in apartments blocks away.

The construction site is in northern San Diego's so-called Golden Triangle, one of the region's faster-growing areas. Suspicions that the fire might have been set by an eco-terrorist group rattled city officials and nearby building owners, who said they were beefing up security as a result.

"This is an outrage," said Councilman Scott Peters. "When a group puts lives and property in jeopardy, they are not activists, they are criminals."

On its Web site, ELF describes itself as "an international underground organization that uses direct action in the form of economic sabotage to stop the destruction of the natural environment."

The site also includes downloadable manuals on setting fires and maintaining security among "cells" — loosely organized groups that do not operate under a centralized authority. The group claims to have caused $50 million in damage in dozens of fires and other acts of sabotage since 1997.

The group has claimed responsibility for the firebombings of numerous SUVs at a Pennsylvania auto dealership in January, the 1998 torching of four ski lifts and outbuildings at a Vail ski resort in Colorado and the destruction of $2 million worth of luxury homes on Long Island three years ago.

The FBI's San Diego office dispatched its evidence response team, whose two dozen members will comb the scene for evidence over the next few days. Late Friday, the site was too hot for investigators to begin work.

FBI spokesman Jan Caldwell said he was familiar with ELF, but was not certain its members had been involved.

"This is a blank investigative canvas," Caldwell said. "Until agents get on the scene, we just won't know."

Caldwell said the banner had been taken into evidence.

The project is under development by Garden Communities, Southern California's second- largest apartment developer behind the Irvine Co., according to M/PF Research, a firm that analyzes apartment development.

Officials at Garden Communities could not be reached for comment Friday, but authorities said the firm had not received threats before the fire.

Arson investigators said that, if the fire had been set intentionally, it had been done when the construction site was most flammable.

"The amount of wood just fed the fire," said Virgil Hathaway, chief of the San Diego Fire Department's Battalion 5 and the fire's incident commander.

Fire crews were hampered by a lack of water — there was only one fire hydrant in the construction area — and the site's dirt roads that were impassable for the heavy fire trucks.

"It was extremely hot and difficult to get into," Hathaway said. "The radiant heat was tremendous."

Someone please explain to me how destroying 1500 housing units over a couple acres in the city, near a major university, helps reduce urban sprawl... Sprawl is 1500 units over 300 acres, or have none of these people ever been to Riverside County? This does nothing but take 1500 places to live out of San Diego's constricted supply, creating more homelessness at the bottom of the capitalist food chain. That, and puts a chill on new dense urban development. Stupid f-ing immature idiots. Someone please get in touch with these ELFers and beat the crap out of them.

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"five-story apartment complex",
"1500 units" on "34 acres"

Assuming that each unit will average 2 people at any one time, that's 88 people per acre. I'd hardly consider this development the most egregious example of urban sprawl. Were there endangered species inhabiting this land?

However, considering that its in the upscale "golden triangle" area, its doubtful that this development, like almost all others under construction, will do anything for the people that are being hardest hit by the affordable housing crisis in Southern California. Developers know where the moneys at and its not in the hood, especially now that housing subsidies for the poor have been cut. I live less than 2 blocks from the MacArthur Park subway station, and out my window I can see a boarded up building next to an undeveloped corner lot. This is outrageous considering people are paying $550 for a studio here, and many more sleep in the park.

Having a couple housemates is a big help financially and a small step we can take against urban sprawl and the housing shortage.

no on has sent a letter to the elf press office, probably just a construction company doing insurence fraud. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Elf is the perfect cover, this way they don't have to make it look like an acident.

Don't be silly.

It wouldn't make any sense for a construction company to torch an unfinished housing development - or the skies would be constantly dark in Southern California. Furthermore what history of activity does ELF have in the San Diego area? Without a strong history of such activities it makes for a remarkably weak 'cover' to blame ELF. They might as well have scrawled IRA or Red Army Faction on the ruins.

No, what we have here is a convenient target of opportunity - located near a university which no doubt harbors the perpetrators. Let the police sweat the Greens on campus and they'll cough up our boy.

I wonder if the ELF people realize that the property developer's insurance is just going to pick up the tab. There can be no doubt that the apartments will be rebuilt. The economic factors that led to the placement of those apartments on that land are still there. All the ELF losers did was waste many acres of timberland. In this case the end result is that more forest will have to be felled to replace the wood that went up in flames. Great job guys!

"more forest will have to be felled to replace the wood that went up in flames" ...

No, the wood doesn't "have to" be replaced, and if it is, it's not the fault of the Elves. The builders have a choice to make: destroy forests or not. Costs will have to be considered.

The reason ELF will ultimately fail is because there are not more people doing things like this, to raise the cost of the destruction of the forest. If people refused to allow their forests to be cut, and refused to allow sprawl...

good thing some people are taking steps to strike down capitalism... i say burn mother f***er, burn!

god forbid we build housing... eh, i think they should lynch these stupid assholes