3-Alarm Fire Knocks Out BART Service From Oakland To SF

OAKLAND (CBS SF) — Bay Area Rapid Transit is expecting major service disruptions in Oakland and San Francisco Thursday morning due to a three-alarm fire involving multiple structures still burning near the West Oakland BART station, officials said.

According to a BART dispatcher, there will be no service through the Transbay Tube Thursday morning, and BART is advising commuters traveling between Oakland and San Francisco to find an alternate route of travel.

BART is attempting to set up bus service between the MacArthur station in Oakland and the Embarcadero station in San Francisco, however during commute hours all buses are occupied on other routes, so it may not be possible to add any transbay busses in addition to the routes regularly offered by AC Transit.

The West Oakland BART station is closed entirely, and BART is looking to set up extra bus routes between the West Oakland station and the 12th Street station for commuters who need to travel between the two.

The fire damaged up to two dozen insulators on the third rail, which supplies power to BART trains, according to officials.

The fire, near the corner of Seventh Street and Mandela Parkway, was first reported at 2:15 a.m., a fire dispatcher said.

Flames spread to neighboring buildings, lampposts and elevated BART tracks, leading firefighters to shut down power to the tracks, fire officials said.

As a precaution, PG&E shut down service to nine customers in the area of Fifth Street and Mandela Parkway, PG&E spokesman J.D. Guidi said.

The fire damaged electrical infrastructure including several utility poles, and PG&E repair crews were on their way to the scene as of 4:30 a.m., however they will not be able to begin repairs until after the fire was controlled.

There was no estimated time for restoring power in that area, Guidi said.

Multiple agencies have responded to the fire, and a California Highway Patrol helicopter is providing aerial support.