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December 5, 2016

Lakewood woman among those missing after deadly warehouse fire in Oakland

Firefighters assess the scene where a fire tore through a warehouse party early Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016 in Oakland.   The blaze began at about 11:30 p.m. on Friday during a party at a warehouse in the San Francisco Bay Area city.  Several people are unaccounted for.
Firefighters assess the scene where a fire tore through a warehouse party early Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016 in Oakland. The blaze began at about 11:30 p.m. on Friday during a party at a warehouse in the San Francisco Bay Area city. Several people are unaccounted for. AP Photo/Josh Edelson

A Lakewood woman is among those reported missing after a deadly fire ripped through an Oakland warehouse filled with concertgoers on Friday night, killing at least 30 people.

While authorities have confirmed 30 dead, they have not released any names. However, family and friends of loved ones believed to have attended an electronic dance party at the “Ghost Ship” have compiled a list of missing people, described as young artists and musicians.

Among them is Vanessa Plotkin of Lakewood, an undergraduate student studying sociology at UC Berkeley. She is one of three Berkeley students missing, according to reports in the Daily Californian.

• Related story: Death toll reaches 24 in Oakland warehouse fire

Friends and family members posted on social media Saturday pleading for help locating Plotkin, whom they haven’t heard from since 11 p.m. on Friday, when she sent a text saying she planned to go to a party in Oakland.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported speaking to her father, Gary Plotkin, Saturday night.

“We’re beside ourselves,” he told the Chronicle. “This is just like a nightmare. I can’t believe this.”

The fire at 1305 31st Ave. is being called one of the deadliest structure fires in Oakland’s history.

Oakland authorities expect the death toll to climb as rescuers continue searching the charred two-story structure, described as an artists’ loft.

The Gray Area, a nonprofit foundation for the arts, created a fire relief crowdfunding page to help support the victims. The effort has raised just over $120,000.

More to come

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