Fire At Oakland Homeless Camp Extinguished

OAKLAND, CA —A fire early this afternoon at an East Oakland homeless camp that's been plagued by a series of problems didn't injure anyone but destroyed 15 to 20 dwellings there, an Oakland fire official said. The fire was reported at East 12th Street and 23rd Avenue at 12:28 p.m. today and was controlled at 1:13 p.m., according to Oakland fire Capt. Chris Foley.

Firefighters still have to do "extensive work" to make sure the fire stays out but "the immediate danger is contained," Foley said. The dwellings that were destroyed included tents and wooden
lean-tos, according to Foley. Oakland fire officials and the Red Cross are working to make
shelter arrangements for people who've been displaced by the blaze but so far only nine people have asked for assistance, Foley said.

A fire at the homeless camp in the early morning hours of Sept. 11 displaced 37 people who were living there. No one was injured in that blaze but firefighters who responded to it found the body of a man who apparently had been dead for several days. On Oct. 22 51-year-old Marcus Haynes was fatally shot at the camp.

By Bay City News

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