On Friday afternoon last week, a brush fire erupted in Oakland at around 1 pm on Interstate 580. It spread east to the Sequoyah Heights neighborhood, prompting over 500 evacuations, briefly shutting down a major highway, burning at least 15 acres of land, and greatly damaging two residential homes.
The flames were most likely evoked by low humidity, dry fuel, and fast-moving gusts of wind up to 40 mph, causing it to spread very quickly. The smoke could even be seen and smelt from our GHS campus after school on Friday, leading to the cancellation of water polo practice and other extracurricular activities due to bad air quality. One of the water polo coaches at Granada, Megan McEntee, stated in a text message to her athletes, “It’s sooo smokey, we are going to cancel!!” Additionally, Olivia Carder, a freshman water polo player, claimed the smoke was so bad that they “could easily see it outside.” Ahana Desphende, a sophomore, added, “It smelled incredibly bad outside like the smoke was filling up your lungs.”
Authorities issued red-flag warnings up until Saturday from the central coast to the Bay Area and into northern Shasta County. At least 80 firefighters were dispatched to the area to help extinguish the flames. According to Poweroutage.us, California utility also shut off power in 19 counties in the northern and central parts of the state as of Friday afternoon, leaving more than 35,000 customers without power. However, by Saturday afternoon, the number dropped to around 22,000. The “major diablo wind” is prominent in fall for its hot, dry gusts, spiking a huge risk of wildfires. Fire crews in Oakland have been working to remove eucalyptus trees from the premises, as their bark and oils are a fire hazard that poses a major threat to the nearby homes.
Luckily, there were no reports that anyone was badly burned or injured, and Oakland Fire Department Officials voiced that the fires were mostly contained by Saturday. Oakland fire chief, Damon Covington, said in a news conference on Saturday morning that the fire “had initially escalated quickly because of intense winds… [but] died down enough for fire services to stop its spread Friday night…” He added that they would continue to monitor the winds throughout the day Saturday.
The Keller Fire coincidentally took ablaze only one day before the 33rd anniversary of the Oakland Hill Firestorm that destroyed nearly 3,000 homes and killed 25 people in 1991. As heat waves continue deeper into the fall season making the terrain even more dry after months without much rainfall, make sure to remain aware and vigilant of any more potential wildfire starters so as to avoid another scorch-fest.
