:
The Oakland firestorm of 1991 was a large suburban
wildland–urban interface
The wildland–urban interface (WUI) is a zone of transition between wilderness (unoccupied land) and land developed by human activity – an area where a built environment meets or intermingles with a natural environment. Human settlements in ...
conflagration that occurred on the
hillsides of northern
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, and southeastern
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
over the weekend of October 19–20, 1991, before being brought under full control on October 23. The official name of this incident by
Cal Fire is the Tunnel Fire. However, it is also commonly referred to as the Oakland Hills firestorm or the East Bay Hills fire. The fire ultimately killed 25 people and injured 150 others. The 1,520 acres (620 ha) destroyed included 2,843 single-family dwellings and 437 apartment and condominium units. The economic loss from the fire was estimated at $1.5 billion ($ in dollars).
Origins of the fire
The fire started on Saturday, October19, from an incompletely extinguished
grass fire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
in the
Berkeley Hills
The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that encompasses San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" (from the original Spanish ''Sierra de la C ...
, northeast of the intersection of California State Routes
24 and
13 ( north of the
Caldecott Tunnel west portal). Firefighters fought the fire on a steep hillside above 7151 Buckingham Boulevard, and by Saturday night believed it was under control.
The fire re-ignited as a brush fire shortly before 11:00a.m. on Sunday, October20 and rapidly spread southwest, driven by wind gusts up to per hour. It quickly overwhelmed local and regional firefighting resources. By 11:30 a.m., the fire had spread to the nearby Parkwoods Apartments located next to the Caldecott Tunnel. Shortly before noon, the fire had been blown up to the top of Hiller Highlands to the west, from where it began its sweep down into the Hiller Highlands development and the southern hills of
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
. Burning
ember
An ember, also called a hot coal, is a hot lump of smouldering solid fuel, typically glowing, composed of greatly heated wood, coal, or other carbon-based material. Embers (hot coals) can exist within, remain after, or sometimes precede, a ...
s from houses and vegetation were carried ahead of the fire line by torrid winds and started new blazes ahead of the original burn. Within thirty minutes the fire had crossed both Highway24, an eight-lane freeway, and Highway13, a four-lane freeway, eventually igniting hundreds of houses in the Forest Park neighborhood on the northwest edge of the
Montclair district and in the upper
Rockridge neighborhood. The fire eventually touched the edge of
Piedmont
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, burning some municipal property, but the buildings and houses were spared.
The hot, dry northeasterly winds, dubbed as "
Diablo wind
Diablo wind is a name that has been occasionally used for the hot, dry wind from the northeast that typically occurs in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California, during the spring and fall.
The same wind pattern also affects other parts ...
s" in reference to the
Diablo mountain range,
Diablo Valley
, coordinates=
, image_skyline=Mount Diablo from San Ramon 1866.jpg, image_caption=A view of Mount Diablo from the San Ramon Valley, map_caption=Location in Contra Costa County and the state of California
The Diablo Valley refers to a valley in ...
, and surrounding geography of same name, periodically occur during the early fall season. These are similar to the
Santa Ana winds in Southern California, and have been the cause of numerous devastating fires. The fire began generating its own wind, the defining characteristic of a
firestorm. The superheated fire-driven winds combined with warmer, drier air east of the Berkeley Hills, and interacted with the ambient cooler, more moist Bay/Coastal air to create erratic, dangerous gusts, which helped produce numerous rotational vortices. All of these combined to help spread the fire, tossing embers in all directions. The wind was so strong that it also blew debris across the bay into
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. Ash fell onto the field of
Candlestick Park where the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
and
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
were playing during that afternoon. The
CBS telecast of the game also showed live footage of the fire. As with the
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...
two years earlier, the blimp shots from the national sports media provided many people with first word of the disaster.
By mid-afternoon, the wind had slowed and shifted to the west, driving the fire to the southeast. At about 9:00p.m., the wind abruptly stopped, giving firefighters a chance to contain the fire.
Firefighting response and difficulties
Assistance from firefighting agencies as far north as the
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
state line, as far south as
Bakersfield
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
and as far east as the
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
state line were delayed initially. Official reports differ between when the Oakland Fire Department made requests, and when the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection was asked to mobilize air tanker support to the fire zone. Eventually the
California Department of Forestry
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various areas under state responsibi ...
(CDF) was asked to dispatch several
air tankers
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
, which doused the fire with tons of
fire retardant
A fire retardant is a substance that is used to slow down or stop the spread of fire or reduce its intensity. This is commonly accomplished by chemical reactions that reduce the flammability of fuels or delay their combustion. Fire retardants m ...
all day long. The CDF established a base at the
Naval Air Station in Alameda. Additionally, the Naval Air Station itself sent its own firefighting equipment and material to the scene of the fire. The next morning, before full control had been gained, satellite photographs, especially
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
(heat-sensing) photographs, were provided with the help of NASA
Ames Research Center's Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) to aid firefighters in plotting the extent of the fire and spotting hidden hot spots.
In terms of alarm assignments, it was the equivalent of a
107-alarm fire.
For a variety of reasons, the firefighting teams were initially overwhelmed by the firestorm. The winds were gusting at times in excess of , creating erratic and extreme fire behavior. Flames took out power lines to seventeen pumping stations in the Oakland water system. Outside fire teams faced various equipment compatibility issues such as hydrants having the wrong size outlets for the hoses used by neighboring counties. Oakland was also not able to communicate with many mutual aid resources due to antiquated equipment and lack of access to statewide radio frequencies brought on by the budget restrictions in the preceding years. In some areas, firefighters simply ran out of water, as there was no power to refill the emptied reservoirs. Additionally, many narrow, winding roads in the area were crowded with parked cars, including many in front of fire hydrants; this prevented fire trucks and ambulances from getting to certain areas and connecting fire hoses. The general situation was one of chaos and panic among residents in the area.
The most important factor was the rapid spread of the wind-driven fire. Before most of the firefighting resources could be brought to the scene, the fire had established a large perimeter. At the fire's peak, it destroyed one house every 11 seconds. By the first hour, the fire had destroyed nearly 790structures. In addition to the winds and the heat, an important factor in the rapid spread of the fire was that it started in an area that was at an interface between developed and undeveloped land. Many of the first dwellings to burn were surrounded by thick, dry
vegetation
Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic character ...
. In addition, the nearby undeveloped land had even more dry brush. Other factors included many wood shake/shingle roofs which were easily ignited by embers, and the use of wood chip mulch in landscaping around buildings, which was blown around spreading embers and igniting vegetation across streets.
The same conditions contributed to a major
conflagration nearby in the
1923 Berkeley fire
__NOTOC__
The 1923 Berkeley Fire was a conflagration that consumed some 640 structures, including 584 homes in the densely-built neighborhoods north of the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California on September 17, 1923.
Alth ...
and a more limited conflagration in the same area on September22, 1970, again under similar conditions. A smaller fire also started in Wildcat Canyon on December14, 1980.
As night descended, the firestorm threatened to destroy the historic
Claremont Resort
Claremont Club & Spa, A Fairmont Hotel is a historic hotel situated at the foot of Claremont Canyon in the Berkeley Hills and located in the Claremont district, near the intersection of Claremont Avenue and Ashby Avenue; the site straddles the ...
hotel, where the media had gathered to report on the fire. Television crews trained their cameras on the dark hill immediately behind the hotel and millions watched as the fire slowly marched house by house toward the evacuated hotel. The fire was stopped shortly before it reached the hotel.
By 5:00p.m., the winds died down, giving firefighters a chance to control the blaze, though full containment would not be achieved until October22. As many as 400engine companies, 1,500personnel, and 250agencies worked to put out the fire.
By Wednesday, October23, at 8:00a.m., the fire was declared under control, almost 72hours after it started.
Aftermath
The fire's rapid rate of spread and massively-destructive nature sparked renewed recognition of the dangers posed by
wildland-urban interface fires in major cities, and spurred research and investigation into improved prevention and suppression of such fires.
Several nonprofit groups arose after the fire. One, the Hills Emergency Forum, was created by local fire agencies to build consensus on fire safety standards and codes, offer multi-jurisdictional training, and coordinate fuel reduction strategies, as well as other goals. At least two citizen groups also arose, the North Hills Phoenix Association and the
Claremont Canyon Conservancy The Claremont Canyon Conservancy provides stewardship and educational programs to its members and the public regarding the , mostly wildland, Claremont Canyon at the Oakland/Berkeley border in Northern California. The conservancy grew out of a cit ...
to participate in policy decisions and provide educational and stewardship services at the
wildland–urban interface
The wildland–urban interface (WUI) is a zone of transition between wilderness (unoccupied land) and land developed by human activity – an area where a built environment meets or intermingles with a natural environment. Human settlements in ...
. The fire validated that the efforts undertaken by
CARD (Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters) Card or The Card may refer to:
* Various types of plastic cards:
**By type
***Magnetic stripe card
*** Chip card
*** Digital card
**By function
***Payment card
****Credit card
**** Debit card
****EC-card
****Identity card
****European Health Insur ...
after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, to build a nonprofit preparedness infrastructure, were key to addressing the needs of vulnerable communities.
In response to issues about firefighting equipment during the disaster, Oakland city firefighters now carry more extensive
wildland firefighting
Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts in wild land areas require different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated a ...
gear and fire shelters. Prior to and during this firestorm, when this was not standard equipment, firefighters were sometimes forced to don
turn-outs which greatly hampered their ability to move quickly and stay cooler during a wildland fire.
Fire hydrants now have the industry standard and inch outlets throughout the city. The lack of a standard in 1991 caused numerous difficulties for various agencies who attempted to connect to non-standard hydrants, even though the outlets previously used by Oakland were considerably more efficient. Water
cistern
A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...
s and a new hills fire station were added, and radio communications were improved.
On June 12, 2008, a brush fire ignited in almost the exact location of the starting point of the 1991 fire, but owing to a rapid response, the preventive measures implemented after the 1991 disaster, and the lack of significant winds, the fire was confined to , with no damage to any structures, and was extinguished within 90 minutes.
In 2015, a $4 million federal grant to prevent fires in the Oakland Hills ignited debate over whether to cut down trees in the region. The city and its fire department say clearing young eucalyptus trees and other non-native plants would deter another deadly firestorm like the one that whipped through the hills in 1991.
One of the most famous victims who lost his house in the disaster was game designer
Will Wright, who lived a few blocks away from where the fire started. He used his experience of rebuilding his life as the basis for the concept of the
Maxis computer game series ''
The Sims'', and added the city's recovery from the fire as a scenario in the game ''
SimCity 2000
''SimCity 2000'' is a City-building game, city-building Simulation game, simulation video game jointly developed by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Fred Haslam (game designer), Fred Haslam of Maxis. It is the successor to ''SimCity ( ...
''.
In popular culture
* This disaster was also included as one of several different disaster scenarios in the 1993 video game ''
SimCity 2000
''SimCity 2000'' is a City-building game, city-building Simulation game, simulation video game jointly developed by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Fred Haslam (game designer), Fred Haslam of Maxis. It is the successor to ''SimCity ( ...
''.
* The story of the Oakland fire is a major plot element of the children's book ''Tikvah Means Hope'', by
Patricia Polacco. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1994.
* The 1993
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
TV movie ''Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland'', starring
Jill Clayburgh,
LeVar Burton and
Michael Gross was based on the Oakland Hills fire. It incorporated actual Oakland fire footage as well as audio from radio transmissions made by the fire crews on the scene.
* The book ''Almost Home: America's Love-Hate Relationship with Community'' contained a chapter of critical assessment of the social aftermath of the fire. It highlighted how the selfish and individualistic desires by some of the victims of the fire overwhelmed any preliminary voice of community togetherness, including fraudulent and greedy practices towards charity and insurance claims.
* The fire is a theme in author
Maxine Hong Kingston
Maxine Hong Kingston (; born Maxine Ting Ting Hong;Huntley, E. D. (2001). ''Maxine Hong Kingston: A Critical Companion'', p. 1. October 27, 1940) is an American novelist. She is a Professor Emerita at the University of California, Berkeley, wher ...
's novel ''The Fifth Book of Peace''.
* In the 1998 novel ''The Metaphysical Touch'' by
Sylvia Brownrigg
Sylvia Alderyn Brownrigg (born December 16, 1964) is an American author. She is the author of seven books of fiction. Brownrigg's books have been on ''The New York Times'' notable fiction lists and ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''Kirkus'' books of the ...
, the protagonist's home and dissertation are destroyed by the fire.
* The fourteenth and final episode of the American docudrama
Critical Rescue
''Critical Rescue'' is an American docudrama television series that is produced by New Dominion Pictures and ran on the Discovery Channel from February 2, 2003 to August 24, 2003.
The series is streaming on Tubi TV, Pluto TV and Amazon Prime Vi ...
is about the Oakland Firestorm, focusing on the experiences of several survivors and also that of Police Officer John William Grubensky, who was killed in the fire, but not before directing traffic as long as possible to give victims a chance to escape.
See also
*
1923 Berkeley, California fire
__NOTOC__
The 1923 Berkeley Fire was a conflagration that consumed some 640 structures, including 584 homes in the densely-built neighborhoods north of the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California on September 17, 1923.
Alth ...
*
2021–2022 Boulder County fires
The Marshall Fire was a destructive wildfire and urban conflagration that started on December 30, 2021, shortly after 11:00 a.m. MST, as a grass fire in Boulder County, Colorado. The fire killed two people and became the most destructive ...
*
Camp Fire (2018)
*
List of California fires
This is a partial and incomplete list of California wildfires. California has dry, windy, and often hot weather conditions from spring through late autumn that can produce moderate to severe wildfires. Pre-1800, when the area was much more for ...
References
Citations
Additional sources
NASA Ames Research Center€”Disaster Assistance & Rescue Team (DART) response
€”San Francisco Fire Department Responses to the Oakland Fire
''The East Bay Hills Fire: A Multi-Agency Review of the October 1991 Fire in the Oakland/Berkeley Hills'' East Bay Hills Fire Operations Review Group, State of California, Governor's Office of Emergency Services, February 27, 1992
''The East Bay Hills Fire: Oakland-Berkeley, California'' U.S. Fire Administration, Technical Report Series. USFA-TR-060, October 1991. FEMA.
External links
FEMA ReportNASA Aerial Photo of Fire* http://www.hillsemergencyforum.org/
* http://www.nhphoenix.org/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20080718222157/http://ccconservancy.homestead.com/home.html
Oakland Firestorm MuralFirestorm Memorial GardenCBS — video of 1991 Oakland Hills FireFlaming Illusions of Reality
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakland Firestorm Of 1991
1990s wildfires in the United States
1991 fires in the United States
1991 in California
1991 natural disasters in the United States
20th century in Berkeley, California
20th century in Oakland, California
Berkeley Hills
History of Oakland, California
October 1991 events in the United States
Urban fires in the United States
Wildfires in Alameda County, California