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Twenty years ago, when Oakland Fire Department Captain Ian McWhorter was out on the burning hills, joining hundreds of other firefighters battling a blaze that took 25 lives and destroyed over 3,500 homes, he was dressed for battle with a structural, not a wildland fire.
The map shows the spread of the Tunnel Fire and infrared imaging of the burning hills taken by NASA’s DART satellite. The NASA Ames Research Center assisted firefighters in monitoring the movement of the fire, which was difficult to control due to extreme lack of visibility on the ground.
Explore our timeline of East Bay wildfires to learn more about some of the area’s worst conflagrations, as well as how a particularly dangerous weather condition called a “Diablo Wind” contributed to each disaster.
In the panic to escape the flames, many Oakland Hills residents faced the difficult challenge of choosing which personal possessions to take with them. Some saved practical items–clean underwear, tax forms. Some were left with just the clothes on their back, or random belongings thrown together.
On October 20, 1991, the hills above North Oakland and South Berkeley were prey to a three-day urban fire that destroyed over 3,500 homes and instigated a building revolution that permanently transformed the neighborhood for decades to come. Before the fire, the hillside was littered with small, older homes, some dating as far back as the 1920s and 1930s. But after the fire, the Oakland hills neighborhoods drastically transformed into a community of clashing architectural styles, innovative designs, and large, looming structures.
From a distance, standing on the windy ridge in Las Trampas Regional Park, the space-age contraption surrounded by a chain link fence looks out of place in the middle of swaying grass and a herd of grazing cows. But this array of sensors is playing an integral role in protecting this landscape. Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) represent one of the biggest advancements in fire preparedness since the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire.
On October 19, 1991, the tiny flame that would become the Oakland hills fire was ignited. The ensuring wildfire, which lasted for several days, took 25 lives, consumed over a thousand acres land, and destroyed more than 3,500 homes. On the 20th anniversary of the fire, Oakland North takes a look at some of the changes the city has implemented to try to prepare for the next big wildfire—as well as what still needs to improve.
The three hikers who garnered fame when they were detained by the Iranian government, accused of spying, and recently released, spoke in support of the Occupy Oakland protest on Monday afternoon in front of city hall.
Medical marijuana supporters and business people in Oakland reacted angrily last week to dual blows from the federal government—a prosecution warning and a massive tax bill—as they speculated on the possible consequences for patients and the local marijuana industry.