By Brian Anderson
Valley Times

Oct. 22, 2001

OAKLAND — Their cities were burning, their homes were ablaze, their loved ones were lost and 10 years after fire scarred the hills of Oakland and Berkeley, their pain was still there.

Shedding tears, sharing stories and trading memories, survivors, firefighters and politicians gathered below the rumbling Rockridge BART station in Oakland on Sunday to remember the event.

A decade ago, flames feeding on hot Diablo winds and the remains of a five-year drought took thousands of homes and 25 lives. Pictures and pets, urban wildlife and wilderness were lost to one of the nation's worst natural disasters. "The fire destroyed my home when I was 4," said Rachael Lomax, 14, who said she was distraught then to have lost her stuffed bears. But, she says, "I know that people's families are more important than any of my possessions."

On that day, the sky was black. The hills were glowing orange.

Swirling winds carried fiery embers from house to house as residents clogged nearly impassable streets.

Breathing was difficult, seeing was impossible.

"This is a day that commemorates triumph over tragedy," said former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris. "We should never forget this fire."

While many pledged to remember, most focused on the memorial's theme of moving forward. Changes, they said, have lessened the risks of again facing the flames that for three days seethed in the hills.

Fire hydrants were retrofitted, roofs now are fire resistant, another fire station has opened. There is better training, improved equipment and clearer communication.

"Today, 10 years later, have we learned our lesson?" asked Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean. "We have."

But the memories of the terror and tragedy remain, as do the ones of hope. They are silently repeated each day in the more than 2,000 tiles pressed into the wall of the BART station where the anniversary event was staged.

Crafted by survivors and those who battled the blaze, the tiles tell thousands of stories with very few words. They bring back memories, which carry with them tears.

"We lost our home, but not our spirit," reads one.

"I dream of my lost photos," declares another.

"In memory of all the squirrels who used to use our telephone lines as a highway who were lost. We miss you," one states.

Looking back while moving forward, Dean added, leaves a lot left to accomplish.

"We've come a long way," she said. "Yet we cannot deny that we have a long way to go."