Another brush fire breaks out at Aquatic Park in Berkeley
One local resident told The Scanner it may have been the third fire in the area in the last two weeks.
Authorities in Berkeley responded Friday to yet another vegetation fire in Aquatic Park.
Berkeley police and firefighters responded to the west side of the park at 1:40 p.m. for reports of 10- to 15-foot flames near the freeway, with a possible encampment in the area.
Responding police found the fire about 100 yards south of the University Avenue pedestrian bridge.
"It looks like someone is in the lake trying to put the fire out with a bucket of water," one officer reported over the radio.
"Does it look like they're able to stand in the lake?" a dispatcher asked him.
"They don't need assistance standing in the lake, but he needs assistance fighting this fire with a bucket of water," the officer said.
When police got to the scene, at about 1:45 p.m., the fire was "still smoldering" but "mostly out," according to dispatches reviewed by The Scanner.
Firefighters arrived minutes later.
The Scanner has asked BFD for additional details.
Emilie Raguso
Berkeley firefighters also responded to Aquatic Park in West Berkeley for a vegetation fire last weekend.
When they arrived Saturday night, they found a half-acre brush fire near the animal shelter on the north side of the park.
It didn't take long to put it out, but passers-by told TBS the flames were dramatic.
On Friday afternoon, one local resident said he believed it was the third fire in the area in the last two weeks.
(Records show that BFD responded to the north side of Aquatic Park for a debris fire Oct. 7.)
"I live nearby so we can see and smell these," he said.
TBS will update this story if additional information becomes available.
