Crew knocks down homeless camp blaze near Lake Merritt

A fire at a homeless camp near Lake Merritt in Oakland was doused quickly Friday morning, according to an Oakland Fire Department official.

At about 7 a.m., a single engine was called to the corner of Grand Avenue and Harrison Street, near the city’s Veterans Memorial Building and across the street from Lake Merritt.

Once on the scene, firefighters quickly doused the blaze, which had engulfed a large tent filled with someone’s belongings, including furniture, and part of a nearby tree.

No one was hurt during the fire or the effort to extinguish it and no one claimed ownership of the tent or the items inside, said Battalion Chief Sean Laffan.

Firefighters were called back to the scene shortly after they left because there was a large amount of steam coming off the pile of burned out debris, Laffan said.

The city’s Public Works Department was called in to help with the clean-up effort.