It’s been three years since 36 people — artists, students, parents, and sons and daughters — stepped inside the Ghost Ship warehouse for a party and never came back out of what has been described as a fire trap.
The death of the 36 victims in Oakland’s deadliest fire has had a ripple effect on many — their family members and friends who are reminded of their loss every day, the city officials who have been criticized for ignoring signs that people were living inside the warehouse and the two men accused of being responsible for their deaths.
At 11:20 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2016, a blaze broke out during a dance party and quickly spread throughout the cluttered warehouse, which had illegally been converted to a living quarters for a collective of artists. Within minutes, 36 people died by smoke inhalation, making it the deadliest structure fire in modern California history. In their last moments, some victims texted loved ones parting messages such as “I’m gonna die now” or “I love you. Fire.”