Font ResizeOAKLAND — Two suspicious early morning fires Wednesday in West Oakland that damaged vacant homes on Union and Helen streets appear to be related and intentionally set, but fire officials are not so sure about a third blaze that caused extensive damage to a run-down Victorian on 30th Street.
That hasn't stopped a well-known West Oakland developer from labeling all three fires arson and putting the blame squarely on neighborhood drug dealers and Mayor Ron Dellums for letting the city deteriorate.
Kathy Kuhner, who owns one of the homes, held a news conference Thursday to publicly accuse a brazen group of drug dealers with terrorizing residents and setting all three early morning fires in the Clawson neighborhood in retaliation for property owners calling police.
"This is like a terrorist attack,'' she said. "This is not a joke.''
Police say they are taking the allegations seriously, but none of the property owners have contacted authorities. And fire officials say no witnesses have come forward.
"At this time there are no witnesses or suspects," said Fire Lt. David Brue.
All the houses were empty. Two were being remodeled and the third had been on the market for many months. The first fire was reported at 12:27 a.m., the last at 4:12 a.m.
No one denies there are major problems in the area, with rampant drug dealing high on the list. Is it possible drug dealers set the fire? Police aren't saying no. But the
Brue said investigators are leaning toward arson as the cause of the fires at 3050 Union St., which suffered $7,000 damage to property and contents, and 3245 Helen Street, which suffered about $500 damage, but that is not yet official. They do believe the fires are related.
He said investigators do not think the fire at 1208 30th St., which sustained about $100,000 in damage, is related to the others. The cause is suspicious but at this point it does not appear to have been intentionally set, Brue said.
The property owner was apparently working on the house the day before the fire.
"We're still looking for cause and origin,'' Brue said. "The investigation may point to something else.''
Mayor Ron Dellums toured the neighborhood Thursday. In a statement, Dellums said he wanted to assure residents that they should not be afraid to stand up to criminals and work with their neighbors to rid the community of violence and other crimes that ruin their quality of life. Dellums said he had received conflicting views on what might have happened from individuals he spoke with in the neighborhood and said he would work closely with investigators to "ensure that justice is done.''
Oakland police Capt. Anthony Toribio said his officers will be a very visible presence in the community.
"I'm hearing some things, that it's the drug dealers who are out there doing it, but it could be random,'' he said. "But we're going to increase our presence there to calm the community and deter any activity and help identify the people who may have been involved or find witnesses who might be able to identify the suspects.''
Oakland City Councilmember Nancy Nadel (Downtown-West Oakland) lives down the street from one of the fires. She understands that neighbors are scared, but she said it's important to wait until all the facts are in.
"It's very important to find out who did it and not just stop at arson as the cause,'' she said. "We want to prosecute the people who are responsible.''
Kuhner said there had been many calls to the police about problems with drug dealers hanging out in front of the newly remodeled property on Union Street that is up for sale. She said a drug dealer was arrested there the other day and that's why the property was targeted.
She said the owner of the vacant and most heavily damaged property at 1208 30th St. had called police on a group of drug dealers the night before the fire. The police cleared them out, but the group later came back and threatened the owner.
Police spokesman Roland Holmgren said there did not appear to be any record of a 911 call or visit by police at that address. He also said none of the property owners had responded to requests to meet with police to talk about the allegations.
"I wish that before the press conference they would have contacted us so we could make every effort to find the suspects,'' Holmgren said.
Reach Cecily Burt at 510 208-6441 or cburt@bayareanewsgroup.com.
