European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday october 22, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 3residents watch Homes go up in smoke by the los Angeles times Berkeley Calif. A they lifted up their eyes to the Hills where their expensive Homes were crumbling under the onslaught of the raging flames. Thousands fled As the Blaze advanced sunday through the affluent Hilly neighbourhoods of Berkeley and Oakland. Many of the escapees wore bandannas washcloths or surgical masks Over their Mouths As Protection against the thick Black soot that filled the air for Miles around. On the streets above police officers with megaphones yelled out evacuation orders and tried to Clear the areas immediately threatened by fire. Many people frantically loaded their cars with personal possessions and prepared to leave not knowing if their Homes still would be standing the next morning. Others stayed As Long As they could. On Ashby Street in Berkeley Louis de groot was hosing Down the House where he and his wife Barbara had lived for 14 years. A a it a really grim a she said As sirens screamed nearby. A it makes me feel like there a a big empty spot inside me like something a been wrenched  firefighters had to plead with another resident to seek safety. A we need you to go of a a firefighter said As the 63-year-old Man sprayed water on his roof. A a we be already lost hundreds of Homes. There is nothing you can do right now. Its a  the Man finally agreed to leave. When neighbors Robert Luse a chemist and Andy sessions an investment banker were ordered to evacuate they drove about a Block before jumping out of their car. They ducked Between houses and returned to their Homes. A a we la be on Alert All night a Luse said. They tried to protect two neighbors Homes but to no Avail. When one House burst into flames sessions thought a we were  but he survived to continue pouring water on his House. A it looks As though in a going to be up All night with that Hose a he said. A this is All i  at Oakland technical High school an american red Cross evacuation Center dazed people milled about in confusion and waited to use the facility a Only pay firefighters stride toward burning houses on Rock Ridge Boulevard in Oakland Calif. Telephone to try to Contact loved ones. Anong them was Lani Fantz who had moved to Oakland a Broadway Terrace area from san Francisco on saturday. Now she had no Way of knowing whether she still had a House. A i thought it was getting too dangerous in the City a Fantz said fully aware of the irony. The fire had come so close that she could smell it. A i have a feeling my House is gone by  she had made the decision to leave with Only her two cats and the clothes on her Back without an evacuation order. A the flames were a whole Hill a amp a but the radio said the fire was jumping four blocks at a time a she said. Another Broadway Terrace resident Gael Perrin had just flown in from los Angeles on a 3 . Flight but did not learn of the fire until she got to the terminal at san Francisco a Airport. She grabbed a taxi but never made it Home. At the High school she met up with a neighbor Lynda Herskovitz who had noticed the smell of smoke at 11 . A i thought the people next door must be having a Barbecue a Herskovitz said. It was two hours before she realized what was happening. Hazel Villata and her daughters Vicki and Linda were desperately looking for Villata a husband Art who had refused to evacuate. They had last spoken to him at 3 . Before Telephone lines went out. Just before 8 ., Art Villata strolled into the High school to a tearful reunion with his family. A i knew i had to come Down the Hill because i knew they were All worried a he said. A i knew that if the fire did no to kill me they  when he left the House he has lived in for 39 years was still standing but he had no idea whether it would survive. In Oakland Dorothy Lage stared teary eyed at the burning Hills where she had lived for 40 years on Buena Vista Avenue in Rock Ridge. She had been at Church when the fire broke out. Her three bedroom House full of Crystal and Ceramic Knickknacks was engulfed in flames she said. A my husband passed away last year a said Lage whose hair was speckled with fallen Ash. A a it a Good he Diane to have to see  by Nightfall the growing disaster had become surreal. Flaming embers arced across the darkened sky tracing trails of flame through billowing smoke and Ash. Bone dry redwoods and Pines instantly went up in roaring flames crackling and popping whenever an Ember landed in their branches. Noise from fire engines helicopters and the fire itself created a constant Din. Hundreds of students were evacuated from Campus housing at the University of California Berkeley. Laura Evans 18, a Sophomore said most people a just packed a change of clothes and a Toothbrush and  freshman Brian sch Lundorf 18, said residents of his dorm had a from 10 minutes to 10 seconds to get out. The first thing 1 took were my cd. Then just some clothes my Backpack and my  he loaded them into his car and left. Behlendorf said he Felt no real danger and student Gallows humor began to surface As some began to sing a come on baby Light my  As sch Lundorf put it a this is  Western wildfires at a glance firefighters battled scores of wildfires monday that destroyed hundreds of Homes burned More than 260,000 acres and killed at least 15 people across the  about 1,000 firefighters monday fought a fire that raged through wooded neighbourhoods in Oakland and engulfed More than 380  people were killed 50 were injured and thousands were evacuated. About 1,500 acres were burned. At least three other fires burned in Northern California including one that burned More than 2,000 acres in Sonoma county North of san Francisco. Two smaller fires Northeast of Oakland were controlled by evening sunday after burning 70 acres Between  More than 100 firefighters sunday contained the largest of several fires burning in the state after it ravaged 450 acres in three Days Daho one death was reported in fires that blackened about 5,000 acres last week. At least four Homes and several Cabins were destroyed in Northern  about 4,000 firefighters monday battled a dozen fires that burned about 200,000 acres. Three people died and at least seven houses were destroyed last  firefighters said sunday that a fire that burned 8,800 acres in the Willamette National Forest was 80 percent  thirty four major fires have blackened about 43,000 acres around Spokane since last week. Scores of Homes were destroyed last week and one person was killed. Cooler weather and diminished winds Over the weekend helped firefighters contain All but one of the fires by sunday. However 3,000 firefighters were poised to Battle a feared new round of fires As High winds approached. Fire s random devastation fuels anguished futility a amps Susan Harris editors note associated press sportswriter Tim Liotta was spending an afternoon at Home when the fire threatened his House by Tim Liotta the associated press Oakland Calif. A a sunny afternoon darkened turned Black and Brown by a column of smoke and Ash from a roaring fire that threatened then destroyed my mothers Home and probably ravaged my own As Well. I have never been in a War zone but i imagine it must be similar to what i faced on the roof of my House sunday trying to fend off natures blazing onslaught with nothing More than a Hose and a sprinkler. Helicopters flew overhead. Sirens blared. Every so often there was an explosion probably another House going up in the flames that seemed to be everywhere. I could Only squint every few seconds through the Ash at the flames marching Over the Hill. Several houses on the Hillside were ablaze and i was taken by the randomness of the devastation. One House was engulfed the one next door was untouched. All around me people scurried about their property caning everything from racing bicycles to pillowcases stuffed full of belongings to their cars. Most wore bandannas or gardening masks to make breathing easier and they wondered aloud if it was time to leave. Mostly they decided to stay As Long As possible gather As much As possible. Water was everywhere. A heavy Mist escaping from Garden hoses turned up full mixed with the smoke and was whipped across roofs by the wind. Eyes burned and throats quickly became parched. Breathing was a chore. Every few seconds a car or official vehicle or fire engine would barrel Down the Street. A few streets away a voice boomed Over a Public address system telling us we were a strongly advised to evacuate. I left the sprinkler on the roof climbed Down and rank through the five room Structure trying to identify things i wanted to save. Take the pictures no take clothes. No take my songs toys. I  decide. Amid the indecision and chaos a feeling of camaraderie blossomed out of the growing danger. Neighbors who rarely talked were wishing each other Luck. That was All anybody could Hope for. There was a certain futility to All of this and i was consumed by that feeling again a few hours later while watching my mothers House less than a mile away torn Down by flames. I could Only wait and wonder if the fire would spare my own Home or leave it a charred ruin