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Oakland Fire Crews Monitor Hills After Series Of Small Blazes Deemed Suspicious

OAKLAND (KCBS) – Fire crews spent much of Wednesday morning patrolling in the Oakland hills, after a number of small fires broke out in the Dimond Canyon Park area on Tuesday afternoon.

Officials said patrols will continue throughout the hills on Wednesday because of the expected warm temperatures. They were watching Dimond Canyon Park overnight at the top of Park Boulevard, where five fires burned several acres and threatened overhead power lines on Tuesday.

Oakland Fire Crews Monitor Hills After Series Of Small Blazes Deemed Suspicious

Operations Chief Mark Hoffman said there was a small fire in the canyon last Friday. "We also had one last week that was a homeless encampment over by Hiller Highlands, right by Highway 13," Hoffman said. "That one we were able to identify as an accidental start, someone cooking, and they lost control of the flame and started a small fire. This one, there was no one cooking down here, as far as we can find evidence, so it becomes more likely that it's somebody purposely lighting fires."

That is disconcerting for fire officials, especially with the current drought conditions.

Crews from several different agencies assisted in fighting the fires on Tuesday. The Oakland Fire Department said the cause remains under investigation, and they are asking anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity in the area to contact them.

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