Environment

Emergency preparedness courses double in attendance after fires

Dena Gunning, the coordinator for the Oakland Fire Department’s emergency preparedness program, usually plans for 20 to 25 people to attend a training. Around 50 people registered for last Wednesday’s class. “We have a full house tonight,” said Gunning as she carried in chairs and tried to squeeze them into a kindergarten classroom at the Redwood Heights Recreational Center. She placed a few chairs at the edge of the door. “This is a tight room,” she said scanning the room…

Oakland’s firefighters help contain massive Napa wildfires

As the strike team drove into the Sonoma valley early Monday morning, the glow of fires surrounded them on both sides of Highway 12. Oakland Battalion Chiefs James Bowron and Nicholas Luby headed a team of engines from Oakland, Hayward, Fremont and Alameda County, and they listened to radio traffic describing the rapid spread of fire through the wine country and people needing immediate rescue.