Five-alarm Oakland hills blaze now 50% contained

OAKLAND — Crews battling the fire in the Oakland hills achieved 50% containment by late Saturday morning, CalFire officials said, and will remain on the scene putting out hot spots throughout the day.

About 13 acres burned before crews stopped forward progress on the fire about 3:30 p.m. Friday. The blaze broke out shortly before 1:30 p.m. in the area of Mountain Boulevard and Maynard Avenue, near Interstate 580.

The five-alarm fire was at about 15% containment last night. Two structures were impacted by flames and dozens of homes along Maynard Avenue, Sanford Street, and Greenridge and Canyon Oaks Drive.

Evacuations were called along Altura Place, Campus Drive, Crystal Ridge Court and Rifle Lane, according to fire officials. Officials halted further evacuations about 9:30 p.m. but an evacuation order was still active for affected areas late Saturday morning. Firefighters are expected to remain on scene through most of Saturday, officials said.

The fire came one day shy of the 33rd anniversary of the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire that killed 25 people, injured 150 others and destroyed more than 3,400 homes. It also came amid a red flag warning for severe fire conditions that enveloped the entire Bay Area.