Vegetation fire breaks out above UC Berkeley campus, 35 years after Oakland Hills firestorm
By Tim Fang
Fire crews stopped the forward progress of a fire that broke out in the hills above the UC Berkeley campus Tuesday morning.
According to the Berkeley Fire Department, the fire was reported on the 800 block of Panoramic Way around 11:40 a.m. At least 2 to 3 acres of vegetation were burned. Shortly after 2 p.m., Oakland Fire said crews were mopping up hot spots.
Firefighters from Berkeley and Oakland, along with crews from Cal Fire and the Alameda County Fire Department, responded to the scene Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters say one structure had been damaged, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
A grim reminder 35 years to the day
While the fire didn’t cause any tragedy, it did cause some trauma. Exactly 35 years ago to the day, the Oakland Hills firestorm destroyed thousands of homes and killed 25 people.
Some of those who perished were Ronna Kabatznick’s neighbors.
“My house burnt to the ground 35 years ago today. It’s kind of in my blood. It just feels like I would know this day any time,” she said.
While she feels lucky to have survived that fire, she said seeing the smoke on Tuesday, on this of all days, triggered what she described as PTSD.
“It’s kind of always with you. Everything we have is dated from that day on because everything burned, so I don’t have a life before I was 40,” she said. “That life burned.”
Most of Joe Garret’s block also burned 35 years ago, but what he remembers most is the feeling of terror.
“Back then, the word went out that they were making the last stand at the Claremont Hotel. The fire chief said if the Claremont burned, there was so much wood in the air and embers that it would burn to the bay. Imagine how scary that was.”
