Safety ‘No. 1 priority’ at Outside Lands
As the threeday Outside Lands festival commences Friday in Golden Gate Park, more than 200,000 people heading there are no doubt thinking of music, comedy and legal weed. But also: Safe or not safe?
Mayor London Breed, the city’s police and fire chiefs and other emergency personnel insisted Thursday the answer is “safe.”
“We know that what’s at the front of everyone’s mind is public safety,” Breed said, referring to the “many tragic shootings that have happened all over the country.”
On Sunday in Dayton, Ohio, a gunman killed nine and injured 27 in a busy entertainment district. Last Saturday in El Paso, Texas, a gunman killed 22 and injured 24 at a shopping center. And the weekend before, on July 28, a gunman sliced through fencing at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, killed two children and a man, and injured 13 others.
“Keeping you all safe is going to be our No. 1 priority over the course of this festival,” Breed said.
Extraordinary steps will be taken to ensure that all goes well, city leaders said. Double fencing will encircle the party. Extra police will patrol the perimeter. SWAT teams, plus private security, will roam the grounds.
But Police Chief Bill Scott declined to provide specifics of
the security plan he and the others have hashed out for the event. The plan, Scott said, “is about everybody not having to think about their personal safety.”
A bag policy will be strictly enforced, the chief said, noting that festivalgoers traveling by public transportation or bike should be especially aware of what to leave at home because they won’t be able to stow forbidden gear in their vehicles. Here is what to expect: People will be turned away if their bags are more than 6 inches wide, 8 inches high and 3 inches deep.
Smaller bags, including purses and fanny packs, are OK.
Also allowed are clear bags and backpacks, drawstring bags smaller than 13 by 16 inches with a single opening, and hydration packs that hold no more than 2.5 liters and have no more than two pockets.
As in past years, festivalgoers will have to pass through a metal detector to get in.
People can sign up to receive emergency text message alerts by texting “outsidelands” to 888777.
Tickets for the popular annual event, not including fees, cost from $155 for the most basic oneday pass to $1,595 for a threeday VIP package.
Gregg Perloff, whose Another Planet Entertainment is putting on the show, joined the city’s top brass at the news conference in Golden Gate Park, adjacent to the white tents and tablecloths of the festival’s VIP section.
He glanced at the uniforms to his left and to his right.
“I’ve never felt so safe in my whole life,” he cracked.
But while the city is doing its best to ensure everyone’s security, Perloff added, “we can’t hide from the world today.” Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov