UPDATE: Oakland Firefighters Extinguish Homeless Encampment Fire; BART Service Disrupted
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Oakland firefighters are making progress extinguishing a fire at a homeless encampment near 16th Avenue and East 12th Street that is impacting I-880 traffic and BART service, according to authorities.
Multiple fire units were at the fire. The Oakland Fire Department Twitter account posted about the fire shortly before 6:30 p.m.
16th Ave & E12th Street; crews on-scene of a well involved encampment fire. This is right off HWY 880, drive safely. Engines 4, 13, Truck 2, Battalion 2. #oakland
— Oakland Firefighters (@OaklandFireLive) July 10, 2021
By shortly after 7 p.m., Oakland Fire officials said the fire was mostly extinguished. However, residents in the area were advised they would likely experience poor air quality for several hours due to smoke as crews continued to put out hot spots.
Residents and businesses between East 12th St & Foothill Blvd and 15th Ave & 20th Ave will likely experience poor air quality for the next few hours as #OFD crews continue to extinguish hot spots following the large encampment fire this evening. pic.twitter.com/dqYfJyGW6c
— Oakland Fire Department (CA) (@OaklandFireCA) July 10, 2021
The fire was blowing smoke across the freeway and slowing traffic. BART was also holding trains outside of the area, causing delays.
There is a 10-minute delay between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale in the Dublin / Pleasanton, Berryessa, Richmond and Daly City directions due to a off-wayside fire. Trains are holding out of the area.
— BART Alert (@SFBARTalert) July 10, 2021
As of about 7:45 p.m. BART officials said train service between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale was still stopped due to the fire. Parallel service on AC Transit Buses 14 and 62 was being provided.
Shortly before 8 p.m., BART service between the two stations resumed.
BART is recovering from an earlier problem. There is a major delay between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale in the Dublin / Pleasanton, Berryessa, Richmond and Daly City directions due an earlier off-wayside fire. Train service has resumed between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale.
— BART Alert (@SFBARTalert) July 10, 2021