Fire near BART station suspicious AC
OAKLAND (AP) — Authorities are trying to determine whether a fire near a Bay Area Rapid Transit station that shut down train service between San Francisco and Oakland was intentionally set.
Investigators are looking for three young men who were seen moments before the fire at a low-income senior building under construction began early Thursday. A security guard watching the site was apparently chased off by the men before the blaze started.
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokeswoman Helen Dunkel said Friday that ATF agents are still waiting to get the go-ahead from a structural engineer to start investigating the site.
Thursday's fire damaged electrical equipment at BART's West Oakland station, hampering train service for more than 13 hours and leaving thousands of riders scrambling to find other ways to get across the bay.
Arrests in Livermore apartment blast
LIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) — A man and a woman who were badly burned during an explosion in Livermore have been arrested for investigation of murdering a third person killed in the blast.
Authorities say 23-year-old Lexie Miriyah Hutson and 22-year-old Evan Aviles were booked Thursday for investigation of murder and manufacturing a controlled substance.
Police say the couple and 35-year-old Paul Lom were making hashish oil in an apartment last month and had been using liquid butane, which is highly flammable, to extract the oil. The butane pooled on the floor and an explosion occurred.
Lom was killed in the blast and Hutson and Aviles both lost parts of their fingers and were severely burned.
Firefighters battling fire near Sunol
SUNOL (AP) — Firefighters are battling a brush fire that has consumed about 300 acres in an unincorporated area of Alameda County.
CalFire Battalion Chief Jim Crawford says the fire, which broke out about 3 p.m. Friday in a remote area near Sunol, is not threatening any structures.
About 200 firefighters are on the ground now and helicopters have been called in to drop water on the flames.
Officials warn of gas from Bay Area oil refinery
RODEO (AP) — Contra Costa County officials are warning residents and motorists about gas that leaked from a ruptured tank at a ConocoPhillips refinery next to Interstate 80.
The company says a tank containing hydrogen sulfide ruptured around 7 a.m. Friday. It's still trying to determine what caused the leak.
County health officials say hydrogen sulfide concentrations near the refinery were at levels considered safe. But the gas has an offensive rotten-egg smell that can cause dizziness and nausea.
Officials warned people with asthma or other respiratory sensitivity to avoid the area.
Refinery workers pumped diesel into the tank to prevent more odors from escaping.
Hercules resident Marie Shalz told the Contra Costa Times (http://bit.ly/LrxW0C) that people at a pool near the refinery suffered burning eyes, dizziness and nausea after noticing the smell.
