Fire At Homeless Camp Destroys Vehicles

OAKLAND, CA — Oakland firefighters extinguished a blaze in a lot off of 98th Avenue Saturday that burned through several vehicles parked there, according to an Oakland Fire Department official.

At about 7 p.m., fire crews were dispatched to 98th Avenue and Empire Road on a report of a grass fire, according to Battalion Chief Ian McWhorter.

When firefighters arrived, they discovered that several vehicles, including delivery trucks, mobile homes and campers, were fully engulfed by fire.

It took fire crews about 45 minutes to control the blaze because the lot is situated behind an airport park-and-fly business and long hoses and extra engines were needed to get water to the area, McWhorter said.

Investigators believe homeless people might have been living in some of the vehicles but no one was in the lot by the time fire crews arrived, according to McWhorter.

The cause of the fire, which burned about seven vehicles, is under investigation.

Related:

• Dog Killed In Homeless Encampment Fire Under I-880
• Fire At Homeless Encampment Reported Thursday

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock