Massive Fire Burns at Oakland Lumberyard

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  More than 80 firefighters battled a massive fire at a lumber warehouse near Interstate 880 in Oakland on Sunday, fire officials said. 

The four-alarm fire broke out around 8 p.m. at Economy Lumber Company on the 700 block of High Street, said Oakland Fire Department spokesperson Michael Hunt. The warehouse is located a few blocks from the High Street homeless encampment, but it appeared that no one was living in the area of the fire, Hunt said. 

Witness videos posted to social media showed flames and black smoke billowing into the air.

As of 9 p.m., firefighters were starting to gain control of the flames spouting from the warehouse “at all angles," Hunt said. The cause of the fire was unknown, he said, and no injuries were reported.

“Residents in the vicinity should close all windows and doors to avoid smoke exposure,” Hunt said. 

Oakland resident Ethan Levin was driving north on 880 Sunday evening when he saw the “gigantic dark plume of smoke” rising from the warehouse. Traffic slowed as some drivers pulled over to get a better look at the fire and the firefighters' efforts to contain the flames, he said. 

“It was pretty crazy,” Levin said. “It was like a movie. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing.”

 Courtesy: www.sfchronicle.com