Multiple Teen Fatalities Feared in California Warehouse-Party Fire
At least 36 people died in a devastating fire that broke out during a dance party in a warehouse late Friday night in Oakland, Calif., the Associated Press reports. Based on eyewitness accounts, several teenagers are believed to be among the dead.
As of Monday morning, 11 of the three dozen bodies recovered at the scene have been positively identified. Many names are being withheld from the media pending family notification.
Right now the youngest known victim is Draven McGill, 17, a junior at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisco. A classmate told the New York Post that Draven was "merely trying to have a little fun and live his life" that night.
Cash Askew, a 22-year-old musician in the band Them Are Us Too, also is among the victims.
The blaze started around 11:30 p.m. and spread rapidly through the makeshift arts-and-performance space, a building known as the Ghost Ship. An electronic dance event called Golden Donna's 100% Silk West Coast Tour was under way at the time. Investigators are working to determine what sparked the massive fire.
"We're no closer to finding a cause, and we absolutely believe the number of fire fatalities will increase," Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Melinda Drayton told TODAY.
A number of people who were known to be in attendance at the party are classified as missing, including Michela Gregory, 20, a student at San Francisco State University, and her boyfriend Alex Vega, 22.
Hannah Orenstein is a writer at Seventeen.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
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