Fire at California warehouse party leaves 36 dead, search continues

Update: As of Monday morning, December 5, the death toll has risen to 36 people with expectations for that number to increase as the rescue crew continues to search the wreckage. So far eight of the victims have been identified: Cash Askew, 22, David Cline, 35, Donna Kellogg, 32, Travis Hough, 35, all of Oakland; Nick Gomez-Hall, 25, of Coronado; Sara Hoda, 30, of Walnut Creek; and Brandon Chase Wittenauer, 32, of Hayward. A 17-year-old has also been identified but the name is being withheld. Two 100% Silk artists on the bill that night are still missing as well, Nackt, aka Johnny Igaz, and Cherushii, aka Chelsea Faith Dolan. We'll have more updates as information surfaces.

Read a statement from 100% Silk here, original article below.

A fire broke out at a warehouse party in California on Friday, December 2, leaving at least nine people dead with 25 more currently missing.

The warehouse, which is located in Oakland’s Fruitvale district, housed a collective of artists who were having a dance party. Approximately 100 people had gathered at the event where the electronic band Golden Donna were performing for their 100% Silk tour.

Fire crews were still working to put out the blaze as of Saturday morning, meaning they have not had a chance to thoroughly search the wreckage and the death toll could rise.

It is still unclear how the fire started and it is not known whether or not the building was equipped with fire extinguishers, alarms or a sprinkler system.

A resident of the building named Bob Mule, a photographer, described the blaze to the local newspaper after he attempted to help a friend get out: “It was too hot, too much smoke. I had to get out of there. I literally felt my skin peeling and my lungs being suffocated by smoke. I couldn’t get the fire extinguisher to work."

Victims have not been identified at this time, leaving many friends and family members worried about their loved ones. More information coming soon.

[Photo: Darin Marshall]

[Via: NY Daily News/NY Times]

Harrison is Mixmag's East Coast Editor. Follow him on Twitter here