Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said her office is working with local law enforcement, the Oakland Fire Department and federal investigators to determine whether criminal liability exists in a deadly warehouse fire, and, if so, “against whom.”
“It is not clear right now and is too early to speculate,” she said of the circumstances of the fire that broke out late Friday, killing at least 36. Her criminal investigation team will be “methodical” and “thorough” and “take the time it takes to look at every potential piece of evidence.”
It’s already one of the city’s deadliest blazes, and Oakland authorities say casualties are expected to rise as they investigate a fire at the warehouse-turned-arts-space known as the Ghost Ship.
After working for 52 hours straight, rescuers had to halt their search late Sunday, said Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Melinda Drayton. There are areas of the structure where an exterior wall is leaning inward and interior walls and the roof have caved in. Other parts of the structure are hanging precariously, she said.
“For us firefighters working under a wobbly, potentially collapsing exterior wall is extremely dangerous. We will not put our firefighters in danger at this point,” Drayton said.
Investigators believe they’ve discovered the fire’s origin at the rear of the structure, where the steel is “twisted and wrapped in the back of the building,” she said. The area has been “quarantined off for additional investigation” once firefighters are able to get back inside — hopefully early Monday afternoon.
Roughly 30% of the two-story building remains to be searched, and authorities hope to get back to work Monday after an excavator is brought in to stabilize what’s left of the warehouse, she said.
Death toll keeps climbing
At least 36 people are confirmed dead, including teenagers and a deputy’s son, in a huge blaze that gutted the converted warehouse during an electronic dance party Friday night. Most of the bodies were found in the center of the building, Drayton said.
Of those, 11 victims have been identified, Deputy Tya Modeste of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said. Families are being notified before the names are released, she said.
A fence and sidewalk near the site became a memorial, with loved ones and others leaving flowers, candles, photographs and messages.
The fire spread so quickly that resident Jose Avalos had no time to help, he told CNN. He was in his loft when he heard someone call for an extinguisher. Before he could get down to offer support, he heard someone say, “Fire! Everyone get out!”
He grabbed his dogs and rushed to the front door where he fell into others trying to escape, he said.
“By the time I was through the front doors, I could just see the flames coming and then they just engulfed the front archway of my studio,” he said. “I looked back and I just saw smoke everywhere. I couldn’t really see anything. Got out of the building and I just saw smoke and then flames coming out the doors and the windows.”
It could take weeks to identify victims through DNA and dental records, Alameda County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly said. Officials have asked victims’ families to preserve their loved ones’ personal belongings, including hairbrushes and toothbrushes, that could contain DNA samples. Kelly added that officials were also working with the transgender community to identify some of the victims.
The city’s district attorney has activated a team to launch a criminal investigation. An arson task force has also been formed.
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