A fast-moving vegetation fire broke out in the Oakland Hills on Friday afternoon, burning several homes on a day of critical fire conditions in the Bay Area’s higher elevations.
The Oakland Fire Department said the fire was in the area of Interstate Highway 580, Mountain Boulevard and Keller Avenue. At least four structures in the area of Mountain Boulevard and Maynard Avenue were fully involved, according to fire officials.
The fire was initially reported at around 1.30pm and three alarms had been sounded by 1.50pm. A fourth alarm was issued around 2:15 p.m. During that time, wind speeds in the area were measured around 18 km/h with gusts of up to 35 km/h.
Residents of the Caballo Hills neighborhood north of Highway 580 were evacuated, according to fire officials. Evacuations were in effect along Campus Drive east of Stoneridge Court and all homes on Crystal Ridge Court. Residents of Altura Place and Rifle Lane were also evacuated.
An evacuation center was set up at Burckhalter Elementary School.
More than 80 firefighters were on site as of 2:30 p.m. The fire destroyed eight hectares.
As of 2:20 p.m., CHP has issued a severe traffic alert as the fire along I-580 has closed all westbound lanes. Firefighters were seen extinguishing a fire next to the shoulder of westbound Highway 580, possibly started by embers from the fire. Cal Fire air support and ground units were also called to the incident.
Motorists were urged to use alternative routes to avoid the area. There was no estimated time to reopen the roadway.
The Bay Area was under a wind advisory with gusts expected to reach 50-60 mph at higher elevations. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for most of the Bay Area and the Central Coast due to the critical dry conditions.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire.
The fire burns almost to this day near the area where a catastrophic firestorm occurred 33 years ago. On October 19, 1991, a smoldering grass fire that had not been completely extinguished reignited and burned out of control for days in the hills of Oakland and Berkeley, killing 25 people, injuring 150 others and burning more than 3,000 homes.
This is a breaking news update. More information will be added when available.
