9 Dead in Oakland Underground Party Fire, Many Still Missing
Updated 730am (12/5 /16)
*36 bodies now officially recovered.
*Only 40% of Building has been uncovered and searched.
*Recovery effort temporarily suspended due to building being unsafe.
*Rain expected in the forecast for Wednesday
12/3/16
Awful news. A dance party in a shared work space in Oakland caught fire and took the lives of at least 9 people. As of now there are at least 25 people still ‘missing’. The Oakland fire department still does not know how many bodies they will uncover. Officials say it could be dozens of victims and that bodies are so badly burned it will difficult to identify them in a timely fashion. All identities uncovered will be released to the victims’ families first.
There is a list of missing people believed to have been at the party on the Facebook event page. If you are on this list please let people know you are ok. If you know someone on this list please think about reaching out to them or their people. If you know someone who is still missing please contact them and add their name to the facebook list. YOU CAN FIND THE LIST HERE.
A Google doc of missing people: Ghostship Fire – Oakland – Missing Persons (Reported on FB Event Page)
You can also ‘mark yourself safe’ on this facebook page.
Victims’ families can get information at (510) 382-3000 at the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau.
You can donate to support the families of the fire’s victims at youcaring.com
The event was called “Golden Donna 100% Silk 2016 West Coast Tour“. Golden Donna is Wisconsin/Portland based electronic music DJ, also billed to perform that evening were: Cherushii, Nackt, Russell E. L. Butler//Black Jeans, OBSIDIAN BLADE, R △ D △ Я. Live Visuals provided by VISUAL AIDS. If you know some of these artists you may want to reach out to them today. The party was held at an artist collective called The Oakland Ghost Ship Collective on the 1300 block of 31st Avenue in Oakland and kicked off at about 11:30 p.m.
Eastbay reporter Matthias Gafni tweeted this morning that, “Alameda County coroner office expects to recover “several dozen bodies” in #oaklandfire; as of now 9 confirmed dead”.
#BREAKING: Alameda County coroner office expects to recover "several dozen bodies" in #oaklandfire; as of now 9 confirmed dead pic.twitter.com/6t7rMmW6hI
— Matthias Gafni (@mgafni) December 3, 2016
The fire burned very hot, and very fast, there were no fire sprinklers or alarms found. The blaze caused the 2nd floor roof to collapse, party goers were trapped inside.
The Oakland Fire department is calling this tragedy one of the deadliest single-structure fires in Oakland’s history. It is a very sad day, our hearts go out to everyone who may have been affected.