BART says it is now working with the City of Oakland to "proactively address" other spots where homeless encampment fires could potentially threaten train service.There have now been not one but two encampment fires that have interrupted BART service in the last week, and one on Sunday — which occ urred in a problematic location in West Oakland that BART officials were already aware of — shut down all transbay service from 4 pm on, stranding thousands of riders on both sides of the Bay.We learned Monday morning that the culprit in Sunday's cable damage that led to the suspension of all train service through the Transbay Tube was an RV fire at a homeless encampment near West Oakland Station. The Chronicle now reports that the encampment was in the area of Fifth and Filbert streets, beneath BART's elevated trackway, and it was an encampment that the agency was already working with the City of Oakland to address. The fire sent flames high up to the elevated tracks, where they caused damage to communications cables that are essential to service. And, subsequently, repair crews had to inspect the cables "inch by inch" and replace any damaged ones, and then run test trains to make sure everything was working, before service could resume early Monday morning, according to BART spokesperson Alicia Trost.A look at Google Street View shows photos of the area around Fifth and Filbert Streets in February 2025, one year ago. A trailer of some kind is parked on the street, partly underneath the BART trackway, but more concerning is a large section of chainlink fence, meant to keep people out of the area beneath the tracks, is missing, which would theoretically allow RVs to park off the street and in this grassy area.Google Street View image from February 2025 showing missing fencing in the area beneath the BART tracks where Sunday's fire occurred.Former BART director Debora Allen pointed this out, posting a Google Street View image in response to BART's Monday Xitter post about the fire incident. "Why is @SFBART allowing the City of Oakland to leave its tracks in danger by allowing RV campers along the streets. No red curbs, unlocked gates. Your BART personnel have lots of cars to drive around and keep an eye on this," Allen writes.Trost acknowledged to the Chronicle that the process of clearing the encampment in this area was being sped up thanks to Sunday's fire, and she added, "At this time, we are working closely with the City of Oakland to proactively address other areas of concern, to prevent another situation like this."Another encampment fire the previous Sunday also caused damage to BART cables and forced the temporary closure of South Hayward Station.BART may be struggling with declining ridership, but incidents like what occurred Sunday show the degree to which many still rely on the BART system, particularly when they want to avoid car traffic and attend large events where there will be limited parking.We noted the many people who were lined up for bus shuttles at Salesforce Transit Center Sunday, trying to get back to the East Bay after an afternon in SF — that Formula 1 event in the Marina being just one of many potential draws. And the Chronicle notes that many hundreds were also lined up and cramming onto bus shuttles outside 12th Street/City Center Station in Oakland following the Black Joy Parade, which was just winding down when BART's meltdown occurred.Previously: BART Service Through Transbay Tube Resumes After Fire-Damaged Cables Cause Major Sunday Disruption ...read more read less