9.26.06

Dangerous Beauty

Tile from the Firestorm Community Mural at the Rockridge BART station:

The mural is dedicated to survivors, firefighters and those who lost their lives in the Oakland Hills firestorm of 1991. It’s very sad - the image above, multiplied by 2,000. According to the Wiki:

The 1991 Oakland firestorm occurred on Sunday October 20, 1991, almost exactly two years after the Loma Prieta earthquake. The fire has also been called the Oakland hills firestorm, the East Bay hills fire, or the Tunnel fire (because it began above the west portal of the Caldecott Tunnel). The fire killed 25 people and injured 150. On the 1,520 acres destroyed were 2,449 single-family dwellings and 437 apartment and condominium units. The economic loss has been estimated at $1.5 billion.

Click here to read more.

The Oakland and Berkeley Hills are incredibly beautiful, with world-class views of the bay and amazing multimillion dollar homes. However, they are prone to horrific natural disasters. Fire and mudslides are a threat, and the hills sit directly on top of the most volatile fault line in California. It’s like Mother Nature’s way of saying, “look, don’t touch.”

If you find yourself in Rockridge, check out the mural. It’s easy to dismiss as just a pretty way to dress up a BART station, but many of the tiles are truly heartwrenching.

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