The Oakland firestorm of 1991 and it’s aftermath On October 19th, 1991 a grass fire started near 7151 Buckingham Blvd, Oakland Ca. The fire department came quickly and extinguished it, or so they had thought. A day later, on October 20th, it reignited a short walk away near 7185 Marlborough Terrace and quickly spread. The high winds and dry climate allowed it to spread quickly with some winds exceeding 100 km/h. This fire destroyed over 3,000 buildings. It led to stricter housing regulations, a controversy about the cutting down of flammable trees, and, oddly enough, it inspired a well known computer game about life simulation.
Even though the death toll (25 people) was very low for such a catastrophic event, thousands were left homeless, with 3,354 building destroyed. It cost over 1.5 billion dollars, and at the time it had the largest response to a fire ever recorded. …show more content…
This was met with some resistance from people who believe that it would cause thistle and other brush to grow in its place. Rachel Swan of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, “Today’s trees are older, with long, ribbony bark that breaks off and forms dangerous embers during a wildfire, Stephens said. Drought, periodic freezes and beetle infestations have made the bark more feeble. ‘We’ve got these trees suffering in the hills, and the Caldecott acting as a natural wind tunnel,’ said Piper, who now chairs the Oakland Firesafe Council, a neighborhood group dedicated to wildfire prevention. ‘And every 20 years or so, something gets really bad on those hot, windy days.”’ (Swan, Rachel. “25 Years Later: Oakland Hills Ripe for Another Firestorm.”) Unfortunately, The city was not able to get much done after a lawsuit form a small group of people totally opposed to the idea of cutting the trees down, and the federal government not giving ta grant as a
Even though the death toll (25 people) was very low for such a catastrophic event, thousands were left homeless, with 3,354 building destroyed. It cost over 1.5 billion dollars, and at the time it had the largest response to a fire ever recorded. …show more content…
This was met with some resistance from people who believe that it would cause thistle and other brush to grow in its place. Rachel Swan of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, “Today’s trees are older, with long, ribbony bark that breaks off and forms dangerous embers during a wildfire, Stephens said. Drought, periodic freezes and beetle infestations have made the bark more feeble. ‘We’ve got these trees suffering in the hills, and the Caldecott acting as a natural wind tunnel,’ said Piper, who now chairs the Oakland Firesafe Council, a neighborhood group dedicated to wildfire prevention. ‘And every 20 years or so, something gets really bad on those hot, windy days.”’ (Swan, Rachel. “25 Years Later: Oakland Hills Ripe for Another Firestorm.”) Unfortunately, The city was not able to get much done after a lawsuit form a small group of people totally opposed to the idea of cutting the trees down, and the federal government not giving ta grant as a