OAKLAND — All aboard one of the Oakland Zoo’s sky-ride cars were safely rescued after an afternoon electrical fire, authorities said Sunday.
At 4:04 p.m., firefighters responded to a report of the fire, an Oakland fire dispatcher said. Sixteen firefighters responded to the zoo at 9777 Golf Links Road aboard a truck and two engines, Oakland Fire battalion chief Ian McWhorter said. But when firefighters arrived, they found the sky-ride car’s passengers had been escorted to safety.
“We showed up, but they were already in the process of removing all the guests,” McWhorter said, adding that the cause appeared to be a small electrical fire.
McWhorter did not immediately know how many people were aboard the affected car. Firefighters canceled the response at 4:11 p.m., the dispatcher said.
Zoo spokeswoman Erin Harrison clarified initial reports, saying Sunday evening that fewer than a dozen people were aboard the car, and that the zoo’s newer gondola system was not involved at all in the incident.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
