Guide Note

A three-alarm brushfire in the hills above Oakland on June 12, 2008, threatened several homes before firefighters managed the bring the blaze under control. Many of the homes that were threatened had been built on the site of a disastrous 1991 fire in the same area which destroyed 3,200 homes and killed 25 people.¹

Fast Facts

1. Location: Oakland, California
2. Date began: June 12, 2008
3. Time reported: 11:18 AM²
4. Time contained: 1:45 PM²
5. No. of acres burned: Three
6. Homes destroyed: Zero²
7. Lives lost: Zero²
8. Type of fire: Brushfire
9. Light winds kept fire from spreading rapidly
10. Occurred on site of massive 1991 fire

Residents reported the fire at approximately 11:18 AM and forty-five firefighters quickly arrived at the scene. Helicopters were called in to drop water scooped from nearby Lake Temescal on the blaze. While the fire briefly threatened seven townhome complexes, light winds helped keep the flames low and the fire was officially declared contained at 1:45 PM.²