Massive fire engulfs construction project in Oakland

A huge blaze erupted before dawn Friday north of downtown Oakland, engulfing a six-story, mixed-use building that was under construction and prompting concern about a crane that was in danger of collapsing.

The fire, which broke out near Valdez and 23rd streets sometime between 4:30 and 5 a.m., northwest of Lake Merritt, sent flames high into the air, and a plume of smoke was visible for miles. There was no immediate word of any injuries.

She said drove away, thinking the fire wasn’t bad. She called her husband who was still at home to warn him of the fire.

“I called my husband and I said, ‘I saw the fire start. ‘You have to be careful and get ready to get out.’ He called me and said, ‘Oh honey, the fire started getting worse and he asked where my passport and papers are. Our apartment won't be safe anymore. I was crying a lot, I worried.”

She said she turned around and drove back to her neighborhood to find flames shooting from the burning building.

“I saw a lot of smoke. Big, big smoke. That's why I'm shaking and crying a lot,” Khamphou said. “So I’m worried. We have all our stuff in there.

Firefighters were working to contain the inferno and keep nearby buildings from catching fire. A number of streets in the area were blocked off. The cause was under investigation.

Residents of surrounding buildings were evacuated by police and firefighters, many stood on the streets outside the burning structure in their pajamas. Black ash was falling from the sky on cars and people in the area.

One evacuated resident said he saw the fire apparently start in an elevator shaft at the building.

A large crane in the middle of the construction sight was swinging around on its own, adding additional concerns to firefightrers.

“The crane was just spinning. The building was burning and that crane was just spinning. I thought it was going to come down,” said Oudy Sene, 47, who lives near by and was standing at 24th and Harrison streets.

He said a neighbor was yelling outside his house to evacuate at about 4:30 am and that's how he discovered that a fire had started.