Series Of 5 Oakland Hills Brush Fires Deemed Suspicious
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A series of five brush fires that broke out in the Oakland hills Tuesday afternoon have been deemed suspicious, a fire battalion chief said.
No one was injured and no structures were threatened by the fires, which required a four-alarm response, Oakland fire Battalion Chief Lisa Baker said.
The first two fires were the biggest and were reported near Park Boulevard and Estates Drive in Dimond Canyon Park shortly before 2 p.m. today, according to Baker.
One of those fires burned about two acres and the other large fire burned about two and a half acres, she said.
Later in the day, three small fires broke out nearby, Baker said.
One of those blazes was 5 feet by 10 feet and the other two were about 10 feet by 10 feet, she said.
All of the fires were under control by 3:40 p.m., according to the fire battalion chief.
Baker said fire officials believe the brush fires are suspicious because so many blazes broke out in the same area despite a lack of high winds.
The cause of all the fires appears to be an open flame, Baker said.
The biggest concern of firefighters today was that the blaze would engulf high-voltage power lines because the fire from the two large fires reached about 30 feet high, but that didn't happen, according to Baker.
She said the fires are under investigation and citizens who see any suspicious activity should call fire officials.
© Copyright 2014 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
