The Oakland-Berkeley Hills fire of 1991

Abstract

Sunday, October 20, 1991, will be remembered as the date of America’s most costly urban-wildland fire (FEMA 1992) and one of the worst fires involving loss of life and property since the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 (OFD 1992). The magnitude and range of what is simply referred to as the “Tunnel Fire” is far beyond the experience of any living American firefighter. Only those who fought the Chicago Fire last century and those who battled the Great Fire in San Francisco would be able to identify with this conflagration and firestorm.

Parent Publication

• The Biswell symposium: fire issues and solutions in urban interface and wildland ecosystems; February 15-17, 1994; Walnut Creek, California

Citation

Ewell, P. Lamont. 1995. The Oakland-Berkeley Hills fire of 1991. In: Weise, David R.; Martin, Robert E., technical coordinators. The Biswell symposium: fire issues and solutions in urban interface and wildland ecosystems; February 15-17, 1994; Walnut Creek, California. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-158. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 7-10