On October 19, 1991, walk leader Janet Byron was a 27-year-old intern at the Oakland Tribune. Alone in the newsroom on that fateful Sunday morning, she began the day by calling police and fire stations. Byron is fairly certain that she was the first reporter on the scene of the conflagration that killed 25 people and destroyed around 3,500 housing units in Oakland and Berkeley. The walk traverses the area behind the Claremont Hotel—downhill from where the fire started—and includes homes that made it through the fire and several rebuilt
aferward, as well as a mid-block path and views out to San Francisco Bay. Co-led by Robert Johnson, Byron’s Berkeley Walks co-author.
The walk is 1.7 miles on uphill streets with the option to skip two long downhill stairways.
Sign up for one or more walking tours online here (members only until August 26), or print and mail this form with a check, postmarked by August 31.