Downed Power Line Sparks Fire In Oakland Hills
OAKLAND (KCBS) – Two freeways are being closed at 11 p.m. so PG&E crews can do electrical work following a three-alarm brush fire Friday afternoon in the Oakland hills, a company spokeswoman said.
The closures of Interstate Highway 580 and state Highway 13 were supposed to happen at 9 p.m., but PG&E needed more time to start restringing the power lines. The closures could last up to an hour, PG&E spokeswoman Jana Morris said.
Westbound Highway 580 was set to be closed at 98th Avenue, including the Keller and Edwards Avenue ramps, and eastbound Highway 580 was set to be closed at Seminary Avenue. Southbound state Highway 13 was also set to be closed at Mountain Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The closure comes after a fire was started when an elderly woman
lost control of her car and hit a power pole.
The fire was reported around 1:45 p.m. in the area of Mountain Boulevard and Keller Avenue off of East 580, near the site where a car hit a power pole.
Pacific Gas and Electric spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian said the downed power line in the caused an outage affecting an estimated 6,700 customers in the area of the fire.
The fire prompted the evacuation of the residents of several homes and of a housing complex in the area.
CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant said firefighters contained the blaze by 3 p.m.
There were no injuries reported. No homes appeared to have been damaged, according to a fire dispatcher.
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