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Thursday morning at or around 9:30 am two cars burned in the driveway between the Clark Kerr Campus and the back of Redwood Gardens senior housing in Berkeley. Black and white plumes from the fires rose hundreds of feet into the air, clearly marking the location for emergency crews, campus officials, and on-lookers. 

The Berkeley Fire Department rapidly extinguished both cars. In the process both hoods and trunks were opened, mostly with fire axes and pry bars, and the interior spaces were thoroughly flooded with water laced with white fire retardant. 

The owner of the white BMW with Missouri registration called Berkeley Emergency (911) to report the fire. The BMW burned first, with enough heat to cause the blue Honda parked directly behind it to catch fire. The BMW was reduced to a burned-out shell and the Honda did not fare much better. 

L.V. Weiss, a witness to the fire, reports that the City of Berkeley Fire Marshal looked worriedly at the huge wood chip pile near the burning car and said that if it was not taken away "I'm looking at another Oakland Hills Fire".