Midday fire alongside I-580 in East Oakland under investigation
OAKLAND — Firefighters knocked down the fourth fire Monday within a three-week stretch along Interstate 580 lanes in East Oakland, with the cause still under investigation, authorities said.
Around 11:40 a.m., eight firefighters aboard two engines responded to a call from a resident in the 3300 block of Octavia Street about a vegetation fire, Oakland Fire Department spokesman Michael Hunt said.
When firefighters arrived, they found a 20 foot-by-20 foot patch of burning brush just over a fenceline alongside eastbound I-580 lanes east of 35th Avenue, and called out for two additional engines.
“The brush was very thick there, and crews had a hard time getting enough water on it fast enough,” Hunt said.
Firefighters contained the blaze within 15 minutes, with no reported injuries or damage to any nearby structures.
An arson investigation also responded to the scene, which was directly across the highway from the scene of Sept. 16’s four-alarm fire that spread to four homes and displaced at least 10 residents, but found no clear signs of a cause Monday afternoon, Hunt said.
Within the last week, Caltrans crews have managed to clear large amounts of brush along the highway’s westbound lanes between 35th and 38th avenues, close to the scenes of previous fires Sept. 20 that Oakland fire investigators determined appeared to have been intentionally set, and some distance from Sept. 26’s car-fire-ignited blaze, he added.
Anyone with information may call Oakland Fire Department’s arson investigation unit at 510-238-4031.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.