The Keller Fire in the Oakland Hills was 85% contained as of Sunday evening, according to Cal Fire.
Oakland Fire Department spokesman Michael Hunt said 50 personnel from the Oakland Fire Department and Cal Fire were at the scene of the fire Sunday morning to fully extinguish hot spots and clear hazardous vegetation.
The Oakland Fire Department reported that at 8 p.m. on Sunday, evacuation orders were lifted for all zones, allowing the remaining evacuated residents to return home.
"Our goal - and I emphasize that it's a goal - is to get the people in the 43 remaining apartments and homes back in their homes by tonight," Hunt said.
The fire department noted that community members will likely continue to smell smoke in the Keller Fire area for several days, which does not necessarily indicate an ongoing fire. Residents are encouraged to remain vigilant and report fires via 911 but do not need to panic if they smell lingering smoke odors.
The Oakland Police Department will continue patrolling this area as residents return home.
Sunday night, PG&E trucks continued to drive through the neighborhood, aiming to finish restoring power for the affected homes. First responders opened up roads that had been blocked off since Friday afternoon, and many of the fire engines had departed by Sunday evening.
Oakland Fire said that at least two fire engines will remain in the area through at least Monday.
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About 200 firefighters from several Bay Area fire departments were called to back up the Oakland Fire Department after the fire broke out on Friday. Cal Fire assisted with air support. Because a Fire Watch was already in place at that time, Oakland Fire and other departments were prepared to quickly respond.
Investigators are still working to determine what exactly caused this fire. Oakland Fire said that the fire began off of 580, then spread to two homes in the neighborhood, and then spread to a nearby grove of eucalyptus trees.
Two homes were damaged and about a dozen were threatened at the height of the fire. One minor injury was reported.
Neighbor Michalla Moss, who has lived in the area for four years, had to evacuate for the fire.
She said that being able to return home, "was a relief."
"[I was] very happy to be able to walk through the door-- I think I was the first one home--- start flipping on lights, start feeling a sense of normalcy," Moss said. "This is a very special area and if we were to have been devastated I think it would have hit really hard,."
Many neighbors expressed gratitude for how quickly first responders were able to get the upper hand on the fire.
Brady Tymm owns a duplex in the neighborhood and was relieved his property is OK.
Seeing the property showed him just how close the fire could have gotten.
"I just got home and we found a bunch of burned embers on the property," he said. "Thank you for the Oakland firefighters, that was an incredible response -- the air drops-- I have been watching it all on the news," Tymm continued.
Of the response from fire crews, he noted, "That’s probably why we’re still here."
