A recent brush fire and illegal fireworks concerns in the Oakland Hills neighborhood has residents demanding action from the city.
Fireworks are what likely sparked a grass fire on a hill Near Skyline Boulevard and Kimberlin Heights around 10 p.m. Thursday.
Residents provided NBC Bay Area a video of the incident Friday and they claim it showed two cars racing away immediately after a loud boom.
“It’s a fire hazard almost everyday, with unknown people coming up here and doing whatever,” Louise Miller of Oakland Hills said.
Oakland Hills resident Jennifer Pao’s security camera caught the flames that burned to within feet of her neighbor's home. In march her camera also caught cars speeding off after gunshots were fired on Skyline Boulevard. She’s concerned crime is getting out of control.
“We can just literally see it falling a part and no one is doing anything about it. So really, really, really want to see some action in taking cameras or speedbumps or putting in a gate in here just so we can protect ourselves,” she said.
The Oakland Fire Department managed to knock down the flames before they reached any homes. Mitigation efforts to clear dry vegetation were already underway Friday but Oakland fire chief Damon Covington stressed that fires can turn into infernos quickly as the weather heats up.
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“Instantly, it can go from nothing to something very large in a very small amount of time, " he said. Fireworks are one of the biggest causes of fires in general but mainly these wildland fires and if we don’t want our city to burn and our citizens to be in harm’s way, we have to stay in collaboration and make sure we are abiding by the laws."
Oakland councilmember Janani Ramachandran said she is advocating for more Oakland police patrols in the area and working to get grants and other funding to address the neighborhood concerns.
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“There is a combination of ways that I am trying to advocate for our city administration and the multitude departments that fall under it to see how we can address this comprehensively,” she said.
