Someone set a series of fires along The Alameda in May. Locations are approximate. Image: Google Maps Authorities are investigating a series of fires that appear to have been set in dry brush and foliage outside homes on, or near, The Alameda. A Berkeleyside reader tipped us off to the incidents, which occurred on May […]
Avery Webb
Posted inFire
High temperatures, wind, prompt Berkeley red flag alert
Berkeley is to have heat and high winds in the next couple of days. Photo: Avi As the weather heats up — the National Weather Service is predicting that the temperature will hit 87 degrees by Thursday – officials have issued a Red Flag Warning for the East Bay Hills for Tuesday and Wednesday. The […]
Posted inCrime
Berkeley firefighter shot at responding to medical call
A Berkeley firefighter was shot at early Monday morning. Photo: Emilie Raguso A Berkeley firefighter was shot at by an 88-year-old man early this morning after responding to a medical call, according to authorities. The bullet struck a piece of equipment known as a Swissphone being worn on the firefighter’s belt, according to Interim Deputy […]
Posted inCrime & Safety, Fire
Police, Fire conduct ‘shooter’ drill at Berkeley school
First responders from the Berkeley police and fire departments find a shooting “victim” outside the Berkeley Adult School on San Pablo Avenue during a training exercise. Photos: Emilie Raguso First responders from the Berkeley police and fire departments find a shooting “victim” outside the Berkeley Adult School on San Pablo Avenue during a training exercise. […]
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Cigarette fire causes $75,000 in damage to home on Blake
Fire crews responded to a house fire in the 1700 block of Blake Street on Sunday. Image: Google maps A cigarette butt discarded by a resident in a central Berkeley home appears to have lit some paper recycling materials on fire over the weekend, causing a blaze that spread to the attic and caused $75,000 […]
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Breaking: Firefighters douse gas line blaze on MLK
Sewer excavation work apparently led to Tuesday’s fire in Berkeley. Photo: William Newton The Berkeley Fire Department put out a fire, in the 1700 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way on Tuesday afternoon, that started in a gas line then spread to a utility truck and the roof of a nearby home, authorities said. […]
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Fire at Chez Panisse damages front of restaurant
The early morning fire started underneath the dining alcove at the front of Chez Panisse. The Berkeley Fire Department marshall said the cause was probably an electrical fault. Photo: Colleen Neff [Update, 2:45 p.m.: Read a statement from Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters at the foot of this story.] A fire that broke out at […]
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Firefighters put out cottage blaze after reports of smoke
A fire in an in-law unit in the Berkeley hills this week resulted in about $30,000 worth of damage, and its cause remains under investigation, authorities said Wednesday. Multiple neighbors near Poppy Lane and Hilldale Avenue called to report an odor of smoke just after midnight Wednesday, said Interim Deputy Fire Chief Avery Webb of the […]
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House fire in Berkeley hills caused by portable heater
The fire at 1177 Keith Ave. in the Berkeley hills caused an estimated $800,000 worth of damage. Photo: K. Lawson The fire at 1177 Keith Ave. in the Berkeley hills caused an estimated $800,000 worth of damage. Photo: K. Lawson The fire today that saw two stories of a Berkeley hills home extensively damaged, and a huge plume of […]
Posted inFire
Two fires on Cragmont Avenue may have been arson
Berkeley fire officials are investigating two suspicious fires that broke out within 15 minutes of one another this morning on Cragmont Avenue. An arsonist may have set the two fires, said Avery Webb, a battalion chief in the Berkeley Fire Department. “We had a second fire so close in time to the first fire, in […]
