On This Date in 1991: The Oakland Firestorm

On this date in 1991, red flag conditions existed in the Bay Area of Northern California, signifying a very high fire danger. 

The summer of 1991 had been a hot one in the Bay Area and the warm, dry conditions continued into Autumn.  Underbrush had dried out in the drought conditions and eucalyptus trees were dried out from a freeze the previous winter.  All of this set up very dangerous conditions in the hills above Oakland. 

On Saturday, October 19^th, firefighters battled minor fires in the tinderbox conditions, but the 5 alarm, 5 acre brush fire was reportedly under control by evening.  

On Sunday morning, the 20^th, .  some of the hot spots were still smoldering, and firefighters knew they were in big trouble as a hot, dry Diablo wind was beginning to blow from the east.  With temperatures in the 90s and humidities in the single digits, the powerful hot and dry easterly winds blew out Oakland Berkley Hills over the city at up to 65 mph. 

At 10:58 a.m. the first alarm was sounded as one of the smoldering fires from the day before flared up.  The fire quickly exploded on three fronts as short staffed firefighters struggled to get their equipment in place.  As the winds increased and were concentrated by the steep terrain, the fire was whipped into a conflagration the likes of which this nation has not seen since the Great Chicago Fire – a firestorm.  

The flames completely destroyed the Hiller Highlands neighborhood of 1,800 town homes in a matter of minutes.  As firefighters retreated before the rapidly advancing flames, panicked residents fled down the winding roads, eventually having to abandon their cars and flee on foot.  

Over half of the fatalities were in automobiles that were burned up on the winding roads.   Firemen watched helplessly as reservoirs were drained of their water due to the firefighting effort. If the Diablo winds had not died down that evening, the inferno would have threatened downtown Oakland.

Twenty five people would die in the disaster, including one firefighter and one policeman.  Three hundred and seventy fire companies from around the state responded to t he fires, involving over 1,800 firefighters.  The fire caused $1.5 billion in damage. 

One of the major contributing factors to the inferno was the dense landscaping vegetation of eucalyptus and juniper that surrounded the expensive homes in the hills.  Public awareness efforts followed the fire to try and reduce the hazard caused by the highly explosive vegetation.

Category: Headlines, Met 101/Weather History