Olympic flame arrives in S.F. under tight security

Planned torch route. Chronicle Graphic Planned torch route. Chronicle Graphic Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Olympic flame arrives in S.F. under tight security 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The Olympic flame arrived in San Francisco from Paris early today under cover of darkness amid security typically reserved for head-of-state visits.

No protesters were evident at San Francisco International Airport, which was largely deserted except for a heavy police and media presence when the jet carrying the flame touched down about 3:40 a.m.

A contingent of prominent San Franciscans, including City Administrator Ed Lee and business consultant Rose Pak, and Bay Area Olympic athletes welcomed Chinese Olympic officials bearing the flame in a rectangular gilt and crystal lantern at Gate 94.

"I was giggling like a teenager," Pak said. "I felt immense pride and excitement."

The arriving Olympic officials got off the specially modified Airbus A330 jet designated "Air China 2008," paused briefly for photographs, went through customs and left the airport through a side entrance. They were then whisked into the city, where the torch will remain overnight in an undisclosed location before Wednesday's scheduled 6-mile torch run along the central waterfront and around Fisherman's Wharf.

The flame was flown from Paris, where chaotic protests Monday prompted officials to extinguish torches several times and carry the flame for part of the relay on a bus.

San Francisco officials say they monitored those protests, and similar incidents at the torch relay Sunday in London, and are hopeful Wednesday's events will run smoothly. San Francisco is the only North American stop for the Olympic flame, and activists upset with a range of Chinese policies are expected to protest along the route.

Seven protesters were arrested Monday in San Francisco after three of them scaled suspension cables on the Golden Gate Bridge and unfurled banners supporting Tibetan independence 150 feet over the roadway. That incident is prompting increased security on the bridge today, with officers searching walkers' and bicyclists' bags.

Several San Francisco police officers guarded every entrance to the airport's international terminal this morning and patrolled heavily outside. Initially some officers wore riot helmets, then later took them off.

Agents with the U.S. State Department, Secret Service and the Customs and Border Protection agency were also part of the security contingent, airport spokesman Michael McCarron said. He declined to comment on how many officers were on hand, saying simply, "A lot."

Mayor Gavin Newsom said Monday that the protests in Paris and London would result in changes in San Francisco's plans for the flame when 80 runners carry it through the city's streets. The route could change even during Wednesday's run, he said.

Police said security plans would include having officers run alongside torchbearers to protect them and the flame from any protesters who might try to disrupt the run.

Scenes in Paris and London of demonstrators trying to grab torches from runners and put out the flame with fire extinguishers "obviously play a part in our security approach and will play a part in terms of our making any final decisions," Newsom said.

One scheduled San Francisco torchbearer, Jaclyn Kimball, a 14-year-old cross-country runner, has bowed out because of concern about the run.

David Perry, a spokesman for the city's Olympic torch preparations, said he understood why "anyone who might feel that they don't want to expose themselves to something more than protests" would decide not to run.

"I'm concerned when anyone would fear that here in San Francisco that someone who might disagree with them might cause them harm," Perry said. "That makes me sad."

The Federal Aviation Administration has announced it will restrict air space over much of San Francisco during the torch relay Wednesday, which is attracting protesters from around the country who want to advocate for a range of causes, most notably China's human rights record toward Tibet and Falun Gong practitioners and Beijing's policies toward Burma and the Darfur region of Sudan.

City officials were concerned with both the rights of protesters to voice their position and for supporters of the Beijing games to carry out a successful torch run, Perry said.

"I like to think in San Francisco we know how to do a protest," Perry said. "Here in San Francisco, we're not the type to jump on people in a wheelchair to try to snuff out the flame."