Missing person Alex Vega’s brother and cousin talk about the sadness frustration they feel as they are forced to wait for updates.
OAKLAND (KRON) — There are still as many as two dozen people missing after a devastating fire in Oakland killed 30 people.
UPDATE: Families forced to wait for news of missing loved ones following #oaklandfire. @kron4news pic.twitter.com/2evxRT9d8f
— Averi Harper (@AveriHarper) December 4, 2016
The fire started Friday night at 11:32 p.m. in a warehouse at 1305 31st Avenue where it appears a concert was taking place.
Police believe the victims were a young group of people, ranging from 20 to 30-years-old.
There was a Facebook event page for the concert that was taking place as the fire started. According to the page, about 200 people said they would be attending the event, called the “Golden Donna 100% Silk 2016 West Coast Tour.” The page had dozens of people commenting, asking about loved ones who are still unaccounted for.
That page provided a list of people who went missing during the inferno, but have since left the following note:
“This list is no longer being updated. Oakland OES (Office of Emergency Services) has the most recently updated spreadsheet with names, status and contact info of the missing.
- Chelsea Faith Dolan
- Barrett Clark
- Peter wadsworth
- Nicholas Walrath
- Feral Pines
- Ara Christina Jo
- Ben Runnels
- Jennifer Kiyomi Tanouye
- Cash Askew
- Alex Ghassan
- Hanna Ruax
- Jonathan Bernbaum
- Johan Handel
- Alana Kane
- Micah Danemayer
- Jason MCarty
- Johnny Igaz
- Chase aka Nex Iguolo
- Griffin Madden
- Amanda Kershaw
- Denaldo Nicole Renae aka Nicole Siegrist
- Travis Hough
- Joey Casio aka Joseph Matlock
- Ara Jo
This is the original list provided by thepost. KRON4 will make changes as information is received.
A large portion of the building still needs to be searched, and there is a very real possibility that more bodies remain trapped inside, Oakland Fire Dept. Chief Teresa Deloach-Reed said.
Brother of Alex Vega confirms he was inside the warehouse last night. Family still has not heard from him or his gf Michela. @kron4news
— Philippe Djegal (@pdjegal) December 3, 2016
Parts of the structure collapsed during the fire and there were already lots of makeshift structures inside. This is making it difficult for firefighters to navigate the building and conduct a full search.
BREAKING: Battalion chief says there were lots of makeshift partitions inside…. first responders called it a maze. @kron4news pic.twitter.com/lrZ4MWRHoh
— Averi Harper (@AveriHarper) December 3, 2016
#UPDATE: #Oaklandfire chief says most of dead found on 2nd floor, said there was a “makeshift staircase” could’ve been choke point
— Matthias Gafni (@mgafni) December 3, 2016
Crews continue to search building after art warehouse fire in Fruitvale section of Oakland kills 9. @kron4news pic.twitter.com/neozxjrwIG
— Averi Harper (@AveriHarper) December 3, 2016
With the investigation of the fire still in the preliminary stages, Chief Deloach-Reed is waiting to release more information about the cause and aftermath. She did say this will be a very long process that needs to be handled with the utmost caution.
Artist Ara Jo one of at least 25 people still missing from #Oakland fire. Her parents are flying in from Korea. Oakland will pay for hotels pic.twitter.com/Zct3zYqDF6
— Ella Sogomonian (@EllaSogomonian) December 4, 2016