A vegetation fire in Oakland quickly grew to 13 acres Friday afternoon, amid a Bay Area-wide Red Flag warning, and has damaged multiple homes in the Caballo Hills neighborhood and prompted 500 residents to evacuate.
The fire was first reported as a two-alarm blaze around 1:30 pm in the vicinity of I-580 and Keller Avenue. The Oakland Fire Department subsequently reported that it had grown to become a three-alarm blaze, with multiple structures involved at Mountain Boulevard and Maynard Avenue. At least 10 homes have been damaged or destroyed in the fire so far, as ABC 7 reports, and the department posted a video of one home that was actively on fire.
Update 3) Incident has gone to a Third Alarm. Approximately 4 structures involved at this time (Mountain Blvd & Maynard). Approximately 60 firefighters responding. https://t.co/KVW1WDBmvV pic.twitter.com/RAdq6KxaTW
— Oakland Fire Department (CA) (@OaklandFireCA) October 18, 2024
The fire then appears to have spread uphill to the northeast, and an evacuation order was given for an adjacent neighborhood, in the vicinity of Campus Drive and Crystal Ridge Court.
As of 2:34 pm, the department tweeted that the fire had grown to four alarms, and was burning across eight acres. Subsequently, the fire grew to 13 acres before forward progress on the blaze was stopped, around 4:30 pm.
At a news conference late Friday afternoon, the Oakland Fire Department said that 500 residents had been evacuated from the area. After-school sports were also canceled at Skyline High School and Castlemont High School.
No injuries have been reported.
Update 4) Evacuation order in place for Campus Drive and Cystal Ridge Ct. No reports of any injuries. https://t.co/EUhciz2WPF
— Oakland Fire Department (CA) (@OaklandFireCA) October 18, 2024
This story has been updated throughout.
