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Crews Knock Down Fire At Oakland Homeless Encampment Near I-880

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A fire early Friday afternoon at an East Oakland homeless camp that's been plagued by a series of problems didn't injure anyone but destroyed 15 to 20 dwellings there, an Oakland fire official said.

The fire was reported at East 12th Street and 23rd Avenue at 12:28 p.m. and was controlled at 1:13 p.m., according to Oakland fire Capt. Chris Foley.

Firefighters still have to do "extensive work" to make sure the fire stays out but "the immediate danger is contained," Foley said.

The dwellings that were destroyed included tents and wooden lean-tos, according to Foley.

Oakland fire officials and the Red Cross are working to make shelter arrangements for people who've been displaced by the blaze but so far only nine people have asked for assistance, Foley said.

The fire put a massive plume of black smoke into the sky that was visible from San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area. A number Twitter users posted images of the plume.

A fire at the homeless camp in the early morning hours of Sept. 11 displaced 37 people who were living there.

No one was injured in that blaze but firefighters who responded to it found the body of a man who apparently had been dead for several days.

On Oct. 22 51-year-old Marcus Haynes was fatally shot at the camp.

© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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