Some residents return to homes following massive Oakland blaze – SFGate

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

A massive fire at a downtown Oakland construction site as seen from the Oakland Hills on July 7, 2017 at approximately 5:25 am PST.

A massive fire at a downtown Oakland construction site as seen from the Oakland Hills on July 7, 2017 at approximately 5:25 am PST.

Firefighters battle a building fire at Valdez and 23rd Streets in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, July 7, 2017.

Firefighters battle a building fire at Valdez and 23rd Streets in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, July 7, 2017.

A huge fire was burning at a construction site at Valdez and 23rd streets in Oakland Friday morning.

A huge fire was burning at a construction site at Valdez and 23rd streets in Oakland Friday morning.

The Fire Department, above, douses the smoldering remains of the seven-story building under construction that burned in Oakland on Friday morning as construc tion crews, left, begin to clean up.

The Fire Department, above, douses the smoldering remains of the seven-story building under construction that burned in Oakland on Friday morning as construc tion crews, left, begin to clean up.

An excavator rips down pieces of the smoldering remains of a seven-story building that was under construction in Oakland that went up in flames on Friday morning.

An excavator rips down pieces of the smoldering remains of a seven-story building that was under construction in Oakland that went up in flames on Friday morning.

A person in safety gear walks past an evacuated apartment building across the street from the smoldering remains of a seven-story building destroyed in a massive fire in Oakland on Friday.

A person in safety gear walks past an evacuated apartment building across the street from the smoldering remains of a seven-story building destroyed in a massive fire in Oakland on Friday.

Greg Williams watches construction crews remove debris after a seven-story building under construction in Oakland burned across the street from his bakery, Gregorys Gourmet Desserts.

Greg Williams watches construction crews remove debris after a seven-story building under construction in Oakland burned across the street from his bakery, Gregorys Gourmet Desserts.

The Oakland Fire Department douses hot spots from Fridays fire, top, as crews begin to clean up the remains of the seven-story build ing under construction, above.

The Oakland Fire Department douses hot spots from Fridays fire, top, as crews begin to clean up the remains of the seven-story build ing under construction, above.

Workers look up at the wreckage of a downed construction crane at the Alta Waverly mixed use building that was badly damaged in a major fire, in Oakland, CA, on Saturday July 8, 2017.

Workers look up at the wreckage of a downed construction crane at the Alta Waverly mixed use building that was badly damaged in a major fire, in Oakland, CA, on Saturday July 8, 2017.

People at an adjacent building watch the removal of a damaged construction crane at the Alta Waverly mixed use building that was badly damaged in a major fire, in Oakland, CA, on Saturday July 8, 2017.

People at an adjacent building watch the removal of a damaged construction crane at the Alta Waverly mixed use building that was badly damaged in a major fire, in Oakland, CA, on Saturday July 8, 2017.

Workers attach a cable to the front of a damaged construction crane at the Alta Waverly mixed use building that was badly damaged in a major fire, in Oakland, CA, on Saturday July 8, 2017.

Workers attach a cable to the front of a damaged construction crane at the Alta Waverly mixed use building that was badly damaged in a major fire, in Oakland, CA, on Saturday July 8, 2017.

Secondary cranes rise up along side a fire damaged construction crane at the Alta Waverly mixed use building that was badly damaged in a major fire, in Oakland, CA, on Saturday July 8, 2017.

Secondary cranes rise up along side a fire damaged construction crane at the Alta Waverly mixed use building that was badly damaged in a major fire, in Oakland, CA, on Saturday July 8, 2017.

An excavator pulls down a fire damaged construction crane at the Alta Waverly mixed use building that was badly damaged in a major fire, in Oakland, CA, on Saturday July 8, 2017.

An excavator pulls down a fire damaged construction crane at the Alta Waverly mixed use building that was badly damaged in a major fire, in Oakland, CA, on Saturday July 8, 2017.

Some residents return to homes following massive Oakland blaze

Residents of one apartment building evacuated due to the massive fire in Oakland on Friday were allowed to return their homes late Saturday after crews toppled a giant fire-wrecked construction crane, officials said.

Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Erik Logan announced the reopening of the Grand Apartments at 100 Grand Ave. shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday.

In the event the removal of the crane is successful you will be able to return to your homes today, management of the Grand Apartments at 100 Grand Ave wrote in a letter to residents earlier in the day.

Residents of 100 Grand Ave. were back inside by 10 p.m., several said on Twitter.

On Sunday, Oakland Fire Department officials expect to enter the burnt-out husk of what was supposed to be the Alta Waverly apartment complex 196 market-rate units with ground floor retail.

They will be joined Monday by federal investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is dispatching personnel from around the country to help.

On Saturday, fire crews continued to shoot water at hot spots in the charred wreckage of the building, which caught fire around 4:30 a.m. Friday, sending flames and smoke above downtown Oakland before being contained a few hours later. No one was injured.

Workers knocked down much of the scaffolding surrounding the building as people watched from nearby streets.

The teetering crane, which was damaged in the fire and in danger of collapsing, caused fire officials to order the evacuation of residents in the surrounding areas. Officials worked Saturday morning on plans to remove the crane.

The developers of the burned building, along with their contractor, rotated the crane and pulled it down into an empty parking lot on Valdez Street on Saturday evening, according to Oakland Fire Department officials. Though the plan had been designed to avoid hitting any buildings, police officers went through the evacuated buildings to make sure all civilians were out of the buildings Saturday afternoon, officials said.

The crane was toppled safely shortly after 7:30 p.m.

City inspectors had not been able to enter nearby buildings to evaluate whether they remained structurally sound Saturday, said Sean Maher, a spokesman for the city of Oakland. Once the crane was removed, the plan was to fast-track those inspections.

Our goal is to return residents to their homes as swiftly as possible, but only once we've conducted these inspections to confirm it is safe for them to do so, he said.

Some neighboring buildings were damaged by the high heat, smoke and water, according to fire officials.

Residents such as Hernan Carrillo, a 50-year-old AT&T technician who lives in an apartment building next door to the charred construction site on Waverly Street with his wife and young son, are staying with friends as work at the fire site continues.

Carrillo was able to return to his apartment for a few minutes Friday night to gather belongings and assess the damage.

The roof has a bunch of holes, theres water damage in the bedrooms our bed is ruined, he said.

I was lucky to have a friend who had a space, he said. Otherwise Id be really worried about the housing situation. I wouldnt be able to afford anything at this time.

Carrillo has lived in his rent-controlled apartment for 12 years.

The seven-story Alta Waverly development was set to open next spring at 23rd and Valdez streets, according to a project website.

The Oakland architectural firm Pyatok designed the building for the Wood Partners development firm, and the construction was being done by Andersen Construction.

A group of displaced residents met with Angela Robinson Pion, a spokeswoman with the Oakland Fire Department, at the St. Vincent de Paul center Saturday afternoon to discuss future assistance and when they could potentially return to their homes. The center opened as a shelter for those who had been evacuated.

Samantha Pham, 55, was part of the group watching Pion on Saturday afternoon. Pham lives in an apartment building next door to the construction site with her husband and 14-year-old son. They had stayed at a motel Friday night, but their future housing plans were unclear.

I dont know whats coming next or where Im going to go, she said. Where do I stay? I have no answer.

Chronicle staff writer Rachel Swan contributed to this report.

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Haleaziz

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Some residents return to homes following massive Oakland blaze - SFGate