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Oakland Mourns As At Least 36 Lost In Illegal Warehouse Party Fire

Several queer and trans performers are among the dead.

On Monday night, mourners gathered at vigils in Oakland and San Francisco to mourn those lost in a fire Friday night at a warehouse party in Fruitvale.

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Tex Allen gives out hugs during a vigil honoring those who died in a warehouse fire in Oakland, California on December 5, 2016. The death toll from the massive weekend fire at a warehouse near San Francisco shot up to 36 on December 5 as authorities launched a criminal probe and pushed forth with recovery efforts. / AFP / Josh Edelson (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Authorities have put at 36 the number of people believed dead, many of them members of the city's queer community.

Among those who perished were Em Bohlka, Feral Pines and trans musician Cash Askew of the band Them Are Us Too.

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“We’ve had a lot of intimate conversations with the families,” said Alameda County Sheriff Sgt. Ray Kelly. “The kids were sending texts to their parents telling them they loved them and they were going to die.”

K Records is donating sales of singles by Joey Casio, who is missing, to a Ghost Ship Fire Relief Fund.

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Crews were forced to stop searching for bodies last night after concerns arose about the stability of a wall in the two-story building.

The cause of the blaze is still unknown, but the 10,000-square-foot warehouse known as The Ghost Ship lacked sprinklers and fire alarms.

JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images

This aerial photo shows the remains of a fire ravaged warehouse on December 05, 2016 that killed at least 36 people in Oakland, California. The death toll from a massive weekend fire at a warehouse near San Francisco shot up to 36, as authorities launched a criminal probe and pushed forth with recovery efforts. / AFP / Josh Edelson (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Recent photos show electrical wires running through the space, exposed duct work and propane gas canisters hooked up to a heating system. Police had been called to the space repeatedly to address complaints about trash, debris and other unsafe conditions.

According to the L.A. Times, a number of artists lived in the warehouse, which hosted parties, concerts and events, though it was not permitted for residency. There were also no permits for Friday's gathering.

JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty

A makeshift memorial is seen near the site of a fire-ravaged warehouse where at least 36 people were died in Oakland, California, December 05, 2016. / AFP / Josh Edelson (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Authorities are considering criminal charges ranging from murder to involuntary manslaughter, though District Attorney Nancy O'Malley says it's too early to speculate.

"We owe it to the community, to those who perished, to those who survived to be methodical, to be thorough, and to take the amount of time it takes to look at every piece of potential evidence."

Members of the East Bay arts community say such unsanctioned spaces are havens for marginalized people, who often feel unwelcome or even threatened in mainstream venues.

“We need spaces that are open to folks who are beaten down and oppressed by living daily under patriarchy and white supremacy,” Russell Butler, a musician who survived the blaze, told the East Bay Express.

Below is the list of names of the deceased released by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. (A Facebook page also offers more updated info.)

Em Bohlka, 33

Micah Danemayer, 28

Chelsea Dolan, 33,

Alex Ghassan, 35,

Michela Gregory, 20,

Edmond Lapine, 34,

Jennifer Morris, 21,

Feral Pines, 29,

Benjamin Runnels, 32,

Jennifer Kiyomi Tanouye, 31

Cash Askew, 22,

David Cline, 24,

Nick Gomez-Hall, 25,

Sara Hoda, 30,

Travis Hough, 35,

Donna Kellogg, 32,

Brandon Chase Wittenauer, 32

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