RV fire shuts down BART’s Transbay Tube, raising encampment-related concerns

OAKLAND, Calif. - An RV fire near the West Oakland station Sunday afternoon forced BART to shut down the Transbay Tube for more than 12 hours, stranding riders and causing long waits for bus bridges between Oakland and San Francisco.

Thick smoke was visible from the platform as flames burned near Fifth and Filbert streets. BART officials said the fire damaged radio communication cables essential for train operations through the underwater tunnel.

"We can’t operate trains through the Transbay Tube without the radios working," said Alicia Trost, BART’s chief communications officer.

The shutdown led to crowded bus bridges and hours-long delays. BART said AC Transit assisted with buses but noted they do not have the same passenger capacity as a train.

Crews completed repairs overnight, and service resumed before the first trains ran Monday morning.

Second fire in a week raises ongoing concerns

"We actually had an incident, literally last Sunday near Hayward that was caused by a generator from a homeless encampment, blowing up and catching fire and that also damaged fiber cables," Trost said.

Officials said fire risks near encampments have become an ongoing concern.

"This specific site, with the RV, we were aware of it, and we actually were in communication with the City of Oakland. Like, when can we clean this up? We’ll help. We’ll come and help you. Let’s do this together. We know resources are tight, but it didn’t happen in time," Trost said.

BART said it joined city crews to clear tents and ask people to vacate the area Monday morning.

The Oakland Fire Department is part of the city's Encampment Management Team, a collaborative effort with departments including Oakland Police, Code Enforcement Services, and Public Works.

"I think there are certain corridors of the city that experience it in disproportionate numbers," said Michael Hunt of the Oakland Fire Department. "Areas along East 12th and San Leandro Boulevard were an area that saw a lot more of these types of fires over the last five years. There’s been a lot of work to address that."

Sunday’s disruption follows a series of power and network-related delays last year. 

"So the main thing that we want people to know is that we are absolutely focused on reliability. We’re seeing great improvements, but we have to keep it very consistent," Trost said. "Our on-time performance right now is 93%, which is really great. Customer satisfaction is 88%, which is really high compared to a few years ago. Our ridership is increasing."

BART said it is looking at whether it can harden equipment during future upgrades to prevent similar fire-related shutdowns.