OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Firefighting crews took advantage of calmer weather Sunday to increase containment of a small wildfire in Oakland, California, that burned two homes and forced more than 500 people to evacuate.
Most residents were allowed to return home Saturday but a handful of evacuation orders remained in effect for a hillside neighborhood where firefighters were still dousing hotspots.
Click to Gallery
A person dumps water on a grass fire burning above Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
An air tanker drops retardant on a grass fire burning above Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
An air tanker drops retardant on a grass fire burning above Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Rolo Tanedo Jr. looks inside his car, which became stuck in a sinkhole, as firefighters battle the Keller Fire burning in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Residents watch as firefighters battle the Keller Fire burning above Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
“We don’t want to assume that it’s out and come back and it’s sparked again,” Oakland Fire Chief Damon Covington said during a Saturday evening briefing.
The blaze was 70% contained Sunday morning.
Flames erupted Friday afternoon and were fed by a major “ diablo wind ” — notorious in autumn for its hot, dry gusts — that spiked the risk of wildfire across Northern California. Red flag warnings for increased fire danger expired Saturday and conditions eased further throughout the weekend.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The blaze burned a day before the Oct. 19 anniversary of a 1991 fire in the Oakland Hills that destroyed nearly 3,000 homes and killed 25 people.
A person dumps water on a grass fire burning above Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
An air tanker drops retardant on a grass fire burning above Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
An air tanker drops retardant on a grass fire burning above Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Rolo Tanedo Jr. looks inside his car, which became stuck in a sinkhole, as firefighters battle the Keller Fire burning in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Residents watch as firefighters battle the Keller Fire burning above Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) — Kamala Harris on Sunday summoned Black churchgoers to turn out at the polls and she got a big assist from music legend Stevie Wonder, who rallied congregants with a rendition of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song."
Harris visited two Atlanta area churches as part of a nationwide push known as “souls to the polls." It's a mobilization effort led by the National Advisory Board of Black Faith Leaders, which is sending representatives across battleground states to encourage early voting.
After services, buses took congregants straight to early polling places.
At both churches, Harris delivered a message about kindness and lifting people up rather than trashing them, trying to set up an implicit contrast with Republican Donald Trump's brash style. With just 16 days left until Election Day, Harris is running out of time to get across her message to a public still getting to know her after a truncated campaign.
“There is so much at stake right now,” she said at the Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro. “We understand for us to do good works, it means to do it in the spirit of understanding that our strength is not based on who we beat down, as some would try to suggest. Our strength is based on who we lift up. And that spirit is very much at stake in these next 16 days.”
Wonder led the crowd in singing his version of “Happy Birthday" to the vice president, who turned 60 on Sunday. When he was done, she appeared to choke up, saying, “I love you so much.”
Wonder grinned and said “don’t cry" before telling the crowd how important it was for people to get out and vote.
“We’re going to make the difference between yesterday and tomorrow,” he said.
Harris later said that she “had to check off a whole big one” on her bucket list because of Wonder, which prompted the singer to spring up and lead the congregation in a quick verse of ”Higher Ground."
Pastor Donald Battle said of the election: “Georgia's gonna be the state that turns it for the vice president.”
“Souls to the Polls” as an idea traces back to the Civil Rights Movement. The Rev. George Lee, a Black entrepreneur from Mississippi, was killed by white supremacists in 1955 after he helped nearly 100 Black residents register to vote in the town of Belzoni. The cemetery where Lee is buried has served as a polling place.
Black church congregations across the country have undertaken get-out-the-vote campaigns for years. In part to counteract voter suppression tactics that date back to the Jim Crow era, early voting in the Black community is stressed from pulpits nearly as much as it is by candidates.
In Georgia, early voting began on Tuesday, and more than 310,000 people voted on that day, more than doubling the first-day total in 2020. A record 5 million people voted in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Earlier Sunday, the Democratic presidential nominee attended New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, where the congregation also sang “Happy Birthday.”
New Birth Pastor Jamal Bryant called the vice president “an American hero, the voice of the future” and “our fearless leader.” He also used his sermon to welcome the idea of America electing its first woman president, saying, “It takes a real man to support a real woman.”
“When Black women roll up their sleeves, then society has got to change,” Bryant said.
Harris referenced scripture as she promoted the importance of loving one's neighbor, and then drew a contrast to the current political environment.
“In this moment, across our nation, what we do see are some who try to deepen division among us, spread hate, sow fear and cause chaos,” Harris told the congregation. “The true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.”
One congregant who got a hug from Harris was 98-year-old Opal Lee, an activist who pushed to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday.
Harris is a Baptist. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. She has said she’s inspired by the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and influenced by the religious traditions of her mother’s native India as well as the Black Church. Harris sang in the choir as a child at Twenty-Third Avenue Church of God in Oakland.
Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, attended church in Saginaw, Michigan, and his wife, Gwen, was going to a service in Las Vegas.
On Monday, she will campaign with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Attendees sing "Happy Birthday" as Stevie Wonder performs for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris' birthday during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
An attendee holds a campaign fan before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Attendees listen as Stevie Wonder performs "Redemption Song" during a church service and early vote event with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at Divine Faith Ministries International, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
An attendee holds a campaign fan before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris looks on as Stevie Wonder sings "Happy Birthday" to Harris during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Attendees listen as Stevie Wonder performs "Redemption Song" during a church service and early vote event with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at Divine Faith Ministries International, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris reacts as she is surprised by campaign staff with birthday decorations on Air Force Two before departing Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, en route to Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn, Martin, Pool)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaks with Stevie Wonder after he sang "Happy Birthday" to Harris during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris listens as Stevie Wonder performs "Redemption Song" during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The congregation prays for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, top center, at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris attends a church service New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The congregation prays for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, top center, at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Attendees clap as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The congregation prays for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, top center, at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves to the congregation as she arrives to speak at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A protester, center, demonstrates as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Attendees listen during a church service at New Birth Baptist Church before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and pastor Jamal Bryant arrive at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, greets attendees as she arrives at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Attendees sit during a church service at New Birth Baptist Church before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Attendees sing during a service at New Birth Baptist Church before democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris high-fives people in the crowd after speaking at a campaign event at Lakewood Amphitheatre, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign event at Lakewood Amphitheatre, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Lakewood Amphitheatre, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Lakewood Amphitheatre, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
