The City of Oakland is providing the following updates related to the ongoing winter storm. The City’s website has been updated accordingly: https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/winter-storms
OAK311 Service Requests
Oakland Public Works (OPW) crews were in the field overnight responding to emergencies, such as downed trees and flooding. Calls are still being processed and routed. More than 200 storm-related service requests have been initiated between Wednesday, January 4 and noon on Thursday, January 5, of which 158 remained open as of noon on Thursday. The largest categories of requests are for clogged storm drains (about 100 requests) and downed trees and tree limbs (more than 80 requests). There have been two creek flooding reports. The remaining requests were related to City building maintenance, damaged traffic signals, missing manhole covers, blocked sewers, mudslides or landslides, and damaged sidewalks.
You can view a dynamic map of storm related service requests here.
Road Closures Information
Road closures are posted on the City’s website and that page was updated Thursday morning, with four Oakland streets closed. Additionally, while not an Oakland road, the Park Street Bridge was closed due to an accident. Alameda County road closures can be seen here: https://roadclosures.acgov.org/
The four Oakland closures are:
- Carrington St from 42nd Ave to High St (downed tree)
- Golf Links Rd from Elysian Fields Dr to Scotia Ave (landslide)
- State Route 77/185 (42nd Ave) from International Blvd to Coliseum Way (flooding)
- Webster St from 34th St to 36th St (flooding)
City workers performing site assessments have also been observing downed trees and other storm impacts that can prompt road closures, and the City will continue to update this list. Community members can help provide the City important information about these impacts in their neighborhood by reporting tree and road issues to OAK311.
PG&E Service Outages
As of 3:05 p.m. PG&E reports 14 outages in the City of Oakland affecting 1,512 customers.
Downed Tree Damages Apartment Building
Wednesday evening, Oakland Fire Department (OFD) responded to the 3200 block of Lynde St. for a tree that fell on an 8-unit apartment building. There were no injuries reported and one occupant was relocated. Power to the building was also compromised. Oakland Planning & Building assessed the damage this morning and found additional damage, including blocked egress to the property due to the tree. The City’s Planning and Building Department has red-tagged the building until work to remove the tree has been completed. Oakland Housing Authority, which owns the property, has temporarily relocated all residents of the 8-unit building. Once the tree is removed, two units will remain yellow tagged due to water and structural damage, and residents of the other 6 units will be able to return to the property.
Free Sandbag Distribution Now Resumed
Distribution of free sandbags and sandbag materials to Oakland residents resumed Thursday morning at 7101 Edgewater Drive. The City has distributed tens of thousands of free sandbags since Sunday, and stock ran out Wednesday afternoon. However, thanks to the work of City staff working overtime Wednesday night, and the support of community CERT volunteers who arrived to help fill bags, an additional stock of 3,000 filled bags was available Thursday morning along with materials for community members to fill their own bags. Lines to pick up free sandbags were long earlier this week; as of early Thursday afternoon there was no line. This service will remain available during regular hours, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. and on Saturday & Sunday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Shelter Capacity
The City has worked with its year-round shelter at St. Vincent de Paul, located at 675 23rd Street in West Oakland, to double their bed capacity to serve the homeless through Friday morning enabling them to shelter up to 100 people. There is currently plenty of capacity. The City has also worked with them to extend their day program to bridge the time that they would normally close. Shelter beds can be secured through referral, reservation, and walk-up on a first come-first served basis. City and contract staff are actively reaching out to unsheltered communities so they are aware of these changes. Persons seeking shelter can contact St. Vincent de Paul directly at (510) 638-7600.
In addition, the City stood up an additional emergency shelter at the Ira Jinkins Center at 9175 Edes Ave, near the Coliseum. This site accommodates all ages and families, and Oakland Animal Services will provide overnight shelter for pets. There are meals being provided as well. This shelter is open and will remain open until noon on Friday and can shelter up to 75 additional people. Staff are also engaging with unsheltered residents about this option as well. Community members can simply show up at the location to be served.
MACRO (Oakland Fire Department crisis responders) are engaging with unhoused Oakland residents to inform them of shelter options and the City is coordinating transportation for those who need it. Community members who wish to advise MACRO of locations where this outreach to the unhoused could be helpful can alert the team by emailing macro@oaklandca.gov.
Volunteer Needs and Opportunities
Help us #ReadyOakland. Through Oakland’s Community Emergency Response Team Training (CERT), individuals can organize themselves and spontaneous volunteers can support their neighborhoods and be effective until professional first responders can arrive. Once trained and CERTified as a Disaster Service Worker Volunteer [DSW-V], members may be called to serve by identifying and reducing potential hazards in their neighborhoods, recognizing life-threatening conditions and applying appropriate life-saving techniques, and supporting with situation and status reporting. In addition to supporting OPW’s free sandbags operations during this weather event, CERT volunteers have helped their neighborhoods this week by surveying and completing storm hazard reporting for the City’s Emergency Operations Center. To see CERT in action watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80twsCr7oyc&feature=youtu.be
As the rain isn’t over yet, the City is continuing to notify hundreds of Adopt a Drain volunteers – and ALL residents and businesses in Oakland – to encourage them to clear storm drains by raking away leaves when it’s safe to do so, use sandbags to divert water away from property, and take other preparatory steps to prevent flooding and other impacts. A little volunteer effort goes a long way in helping Oakland maintain more than 13,000 storm drains to reduce flooding and other negative weather impacts. Information about how to volunteer and easy actions you can take in your neighborhood is available at the Adopt a Drain web page.