THE OAKLAND FIRESTORM

A HISTORY

The Oakland firestorm destroyed land and homes near the Caldecott Tunnel within the cities of Oakland and Berkeley, California. The map below shows the site of our study and locates the 1991 Oakland Firestorm.

It is important not to forget the Oakland Firestorm.

Beginning on October 20, 1991 and lasting for three days, a wildfire destroyed approximately 1580 acres and over 2700 structures in the East Bay Hills. This became the most expensive fire disaster in California history. The fire took 25 lives and caused over $1.68 billion in damages.

The trees were exploding. It looked like the Fourth of July. I think we lost everything, I think it's gone.--Steve Hischler, Evacuee

The fire exploded all around us. I thought it was all over...I looked out the window and saw a wall of fire.--Attorney Curtis Karplan

We stuffed our clothes into bags, our pictures, our files, anything and everything we could grab...There were big clots of fire streaming all over the house. When we left, the fire was just on the treetops in our backyard.--Jocelyn Grote, Evacuee

A History of Fire in the East Bay Hills

An East Bay Hills fire, much like the 1991 firestorm, claimed approximately 584 homes in 1923 and over the past hundred years dozens of fires in the East Bay Hills have been documented. These fires continue to portend of the potential hazards that exist in the urban-wildland interface. From 1920 to 1995 over 3,500 structures were lost to fire in the East Bay Hills.

The long history of fires in the East Bay, is one indication that fire is a natural part of the landscape cycle for this geographic region. Any response to the risk of fire, must incorporate alternative methods for the disposal of built up vegatative fuel.

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