The hot , dry northeasterly winds , dubbed as " Diablo winds " in reference to the Diablo mountain range , Diablo Valley , and surrounding geography of same name , periodically occur during the early fall season . These are similar to the Santa Ana winds in Southern California , and have been the cause of numerous devastating fires . The fire began generating its own wind , the defining characteristic of a firestorm . The superheated fire-driven winds combined with warmer , drier air east of the Oakland-Berkeley Hills , and interacted with the ambient cooler , more moist Bay/Coastal air to create erratic , dangerous gusts , which helped produce numerous rotational vortices . All of these combined to help spread the fire , tossing embers in all directions . The wind was so strong that it also blew debris across the bay into San Francisco . Ash fell onto the field of Candlestick Park where the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers were playing during that afternoon . The CBS telecast of the game also showed live footage of the fire . As with the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake two years earlier , the blimp shots from the national sports media provided many people with first word of the disaster
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Oakland firestorm of 1991