A five-alarm brush fire near Interstate 580 in the Oakland Hills burned multiple homes and sparked an evacuation order.
The blaze started Friday afternoon in a home on Mountain Avenue before the wind carried flames into a grove of Eucalyptus trees, where it grew to 15 acres.
The Oakland Fire Department reported that around 7 p.m., the blaze was 35% contained. Late Friday, crews were also working to put water on the impact area and address hot spots.
An evacuation order was initially issued for Campus Drive and Crystal Ridge Court before it expanded to surrounding areas. According to officials, over 500 people were evacuated.
Delane Simms said her husband was inside their home when the landscape caught ton fire, eventually getting so hot the front window exploded/
"That explosion woke him up, and he was able to get out alive, and that’s what I’m grateful for. That’s what I’m most grateful for. I thank God for that," Simms said.
Simms' home is one of the two that were damaged Friday.
As many as eight more home homes suffered less severe damage from smoke and water.
No injuries have been reported, according to firefighters.
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An evacuation center was set up at Burckhalter Elementary School, but officials will not confirm the number of people there.
Pamela Jordan, who's called the Oakland Hills home for 17 years, said she never thought she would be someone who would have to evacuate because of a fire.
"Everybody says you always need to be prepared for a fire, but you won't be prepared, period," Jordan said. "I thought I was prepared, but I just started scrambling around, kept forgetting things, and couldn't think straight.”
Westbound lanes of I-580 in the area were shut down for hours while crews responded.
The Oakland Fire Department said more than 120 firefighters responded to the blaze.
Frank Tijiboy, Oakland Fire's battalion chief, said the winds impacted the rate at which the fire grew/
“This was a fast-moving fire. Winds did not help us. Winds spread it very, very rapidly," Tijiboy said.
The fire is under investigation, and incident commanders were closely monitoring wind patterns and resources late Friday.
Meanwhile, a red flag warning is in effect for the Bay Area due to dry and windy conditions.
The fire burning in Oakland Hills on Friday came just a day before the 33rd anniversary of the 1991 Oakland firestorm.
The Oct. 19th fire killed 25 people, injured over 100 others, and caused billions of dollars in damages.
The 1991 firestorm started as a house fire that quickly spread to other structures.
On Friday, residents said they couldn't help but think about the anniversary and hope this fire doesn't turn deadly.
