European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 23, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday october 23, 1991 the stars and Stripe Oakland says 1,800 houses burned at least 14 dead 6 missing in firestorm Oakland Calif. Apr the City raised to at least 1,800 its estimate of the number of houses destroyed by a Brush fire that left at least 14 people dead and reduced neighbourhoods in Oakland and Berkeley to smoking ruins. The red Cross said monday night that it surveyed 55 percent of the burned area on foot and counted 1,800 houses and 442 apartment units destroyed. Deborah Reisman spokeswoman for the Oakland office of emergency services said the City had adopted that Block by Block count As its own. Earlier monday the Agency had said More than 400 houses were destroyed in the two communities. The 1,800-acre fire was one of the worst in . History rivalling the great Chicano fire of 1871. The City put the damage at $1.5 billion before its estimate of houses destroyed was raised. It had no new estimate of the Cost. The Blaze which fed on Brush parched by fire years of drought was ignited by wind tossed embers from a smaller fire saturday said fire capt. Charlie Fasso. The fire was reported contained at Dawn monday and Crews battled not spots tuesday. Thousands of residents who spent sunday night in shelters ventured Home monday. A i lost the House i raised my children in. I lost the House i married my husband in a City councilwoman Marge Gibson Haskell said sobbing. The death toll Rose to 14 on monday mayor Elihu Harris said at a news conference. At least six other people were reported missing. City and state officials also said nearly 150 people were injured and 5,000 evacuated. Reisman said the discrepancy in the City a estimates of Homes destroyed was a just a question of getting information filtered  a this is an area that a very Hilly so residential development is not As predictable As say in a tract housing development where there Are x houses per Street a she said. Red Cross spokesman Gregg of Ryon said he could not estimate How Many More destroyed Homes would be found in the rest of the burned area. Insurance agents surveyed damage and started writing claim checks. Gov. Pete Wilson said he is asking president Bush to declare an emergency a move that would open the door to Grants and Loans for rebuilding. Fires raged elsewhere in the West. In Southern California 1,160 firefighters battled a 2,100-acre fire in the los padres National Forest. Fires also burned in Montana and Washington where a burned body was found monday. In Oakland the streets of the blackened neighbourhoods monday were ghostly quiet As Gray smoke swirling above the ruins. Water company employees look Over the devastation at Hiller Highlands a neighbourhood in the Oakland Hills area it was a Sharp contrast from the Day before when the Blaze roared out of the Hills above Oakland and Berkeley racing through fashionable neighbourhoods tucked Between Woods and canyons Many with sweeping views of san Francisco Bay. A the fire started Rushing around and jumping from one place to another a said 81-year-old Rosa York who fled her Home with her husband Robert. A it was like the dance of the Devil. We were Lucky to get  a few residents found their Homes intact when they returned. A i  believe it because most of the rest of the Block was gone a Ralph Duncan said. A sometimes you wonder Why you re the Lucky  Adrienne Dinges had no such Luck. A you see bits and pieces of your life in the ashes a she said. The fire ranked As one of the worst in . History and the worst in California since the fire that Fol Lowed the 1906 earthquake in san Francisco. A june 1990 Blaze in Santa Barbara destroyed 470 Homes and a 1923 fire razed 584 Homes in Berkeley. The National fire Protection association estimated property loss in the great Chicago fire at $1.8 billion in 1990 dollars. Some of the houses that exploded into flames were architectural treasures dating from the 1890s, Wood Shingle structures perched on hillsides and edged by eucalyptus forests. One of the most famous structures the 236-room Claremont hotel was saved when firefighters stopped the Blaze on a Ridge above the landmark. Jim Mitchell and his wife Mary lost everything when the apartment Complex they lived in was destroyed. A everything we worked for was gone in less than 15 minutes a he said. Family members cling together left while viewing ruins of their Aldand area Home. Right Lisa Brooks weeps As she walks with her husband David and an unidentified woman