A large fire in the Oakland hills was declared 15% contained Friday night after burning two homes and triggering evacuation orders, power shutoffs — and unsettling memories of an October afternoon three decades ago.
Oakland fire officials announced the blaze at about 1:30 p.m. Friday and said it burned about 13 acres in a neighborhood near Interstate 580, Keller Avenue and Mountain Boulevard.
First called in as a grass fire, it was initially reported to have burned through four or five homes. The department later said two homes were impacted by fire and dozens were threatened but not damaged on Maynard, Sanford, Greenridge and Canyon Oaks.
The progress of the fire was arrested shortly before 4 p.m., the Oakland Fire Department said on social media.
Crews continued to put water on the fire area and crews were working over the vegetation to douse hot spots, firefighters said about 6:30 p.m.
A spokesperson for PG&E said the utility worked closely with firefighters to make sure they could access the fire safely and had shut off power to 1,089 customers in the area.
There was no estimate for when the power might be restored.
All but one lane of westbound Highway 580 was closed for a period at Keller Avenue as a result of the fire, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The effort to fight the fire involved more than 80 firefighters from the Oakland Fire Department, along with California Office of Emergency Services crews that were pre-positioned in Alameda County due to the recent high fire danger weather that is expected to last through Saturday.
Cal Fire air support dropped water and/or fire retardant on the blaze, according to Oakland officials.
The dry conditions and expected wind gusts that prompted a multi-day Red Flag Warning came one day before the anniversary of the massive Oakland Hills Fire that started on Oct. 19, 1991.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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