Four-alarm Oakland Hills blaze destroys two homes, damages five

OAKLAND, Calif. -- A four-alarm blaze destroyed two homes under construction and damaged five other houses in the Oakland hills overnight, a fire battalion chief said Tuesday.

The fire was first reported around 11:20 p.m. Monday at a two-story house under construction in the 6800 block of Snake Road.

"It was real windy" when the fire started, Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Dino Torres said.

"We had the threat of the embers spreading, it looked like it was raining fire," Torres said.

RELATED: Multiple homes catch fire in four-alarm Oakland Hills blaze

About 70 residents had to be evacuated while crews battled the blaze, according to Torres. He said the fire was under control by about 4 a.m. Tuesday.

No one was injured in the fire, which remains under investigation.

Torres said crews remain on scene this morning to investigate and to look for any hot spots.

Some neighbors tweeted their experiences.


One user took video of fire officials preparing a drone to inspect the fire:

This terrifying image shows flames shooting out of a home nearby: