THE EAST BAY FIRE : Fire Declared Out; Death Toll at 24 : Disaster: Damage cost is estimated at $5 billion. Origin of Oakland blaze has been labeled suspicious.

With a weary sigh of relief, authorities declared the most catastrophic brush fire in California history officially out on Wednesday, but the death toll surged to 24 as grim-faced volunteers, assisted by dogs, prowled for missing victims in the torched hills above Oakland.

Fire officials also revealed that the blaze--which has caused an estimated $5 billion in damage--has been classified as “suspicious in nature,” noting that they have ruled out most natural causes.

Meanwhile, Oakland Fire Chief P. Lamont Ewell mounted a spirited defense of his department, questioning the “second-guessing” of critics and insisting his firefighters were “confronted with conditions beyond their control.”

“We could have had a department the size of New York, Boston and Los Angeles combined and we would have had the same results,” said Ewell, who took the reins in Oakland just 13 days before the fire.

Officials said 25 people remained missing and were feared killed in the blaze, which erupted Sunday on the eastern edge of Oakland from the smoldering embers of a small brush fire authorities had declared extinguished Saturday.

Jack Clark, a spokesman for the emergency operations center in Oakland, said the death count was certain to rise as crews pick through the rubble scattered over nearly two square miles of pricey hillside real estate.

As exhausted firefighters began to pack their gear and retreat from the blackened ridges, many among the thousands of residents left homeless by the blaze trickled into the area for their first look at the ruin.

Toting cameras to document the destruction and clutching the arms of friends and relatives, survivors found their once-chic neighborhoods eerily quiet and virtually unrecognizable--their homes and a lifetime of belongings reduced to charred piles.

“Your whole life is just gone,” said Jack Rogers, who plucked a fireproof metal box from his home’s ashes but found only a singed passport and burned savings bonds inside.

More than 2,700 houses, condominiums and apartments were destroyed, leaving more than 5,000 people homeless; 148 people were reported injured. Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris announced the opening of a center to assist victims with rebuilding, negotiations with insurance companies and dealing with the Federal Emergency Management Administration, which will begin processing applications for disaster relief Saturday.

“We want to move beyond blame, we want to move beyond criticism,” Harris said. “We are going to, in every way we can, let them know that this is a community that is supportive.”

Despite the mayor’s statements, the fire chief was kept busy trying to deflect mounting accusations that his department was ill-prepared for the blaze and mishandled the Saturday fire that sparked Sunday’s conflagration.

Ewell said he feared the criticism was hurting the morale of firefighters who had toiled in peril for long hours to protect the public.

“They put their lives on the line,” Ewell said. “They are the true heroes . . . and they are being kicked in the butt (by the persistent criticism of their performance).”

Attacking critics he called “far removed” from the scene, the chief noted that during the blaze Oakland was also struggling with two structure fires, three additional brush fires and one false alarm in an apartment building.

Angry residents, nevertheless, continued their assault on the department. Among the new charges were questions about whether Oakland took sufficient precautions on Saturday to prepare for forecasts predicting high winds, hot temperatures and dangerously dry conditions.

The so-called “red flag warning,” issued by the National Weather Service, was passed along by state authorities to departments in the Bay Area on Saturday morning. Many agencies--from Contra Costa County, just east of Oakland, to the California Department of Forestry’s regional headquarters in Santa Rosa--immediately responded by calling in off-duty firefighters and increasing patrols of vulnerable areas.

Joe Rubini, fire chief for the East Bay Regional Parks, a 100-square-mile area of dry brush that borders the Oakland city limits, said he was so alarmed by the forecast that he opened a fire station normally closed on weekends.

Initial reports suggested that Oakland officials took only routine steps in response to the weather warnings, triggering a shower of criticism by fire victims. But on Wednesday, Ewell insisted adequate measures were taken, noting that fire patrols in the hills were increased on Sunday morning.

Critics also leveled attacks at Oakland’s communications system, which consists of only five radio channels, one of which is dedicated exclusively to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. Many comparably sized departments have more channels available, experts said.

Oakland officials acknowledged that the lack of channels delayed deployment of personnel and equipment--validating complaints by some firefighters from other cities who said they were not immediately put to use after reporting to the scene on Sunday.

Ewell said the city’s budget problems have made acquisition of a state-of-the-art communications network difficult, and he noted the system is scheduled to be replaced next year.

The costs of fighting the fire have been tallied at $9 million, but Oakland City Manager Henry Gardner said losses are expected to rise to $5 billion. If that figure stands, it would make the blaze the costliest in U.S. history.

C.E. Hermanson, vice president of the Property Claim Services (PCS) division of American Insurance Services Group Inc., said the losses include an estimated $1.2 billion in insured property damage, including homes, vehicles and commercial property. The wildfires in Santa Barbara County last year caused $265 million in insured property damage.

Morain reported from Oakland, Warren from Los Angeles.

Fire Facts

Statistics from the East Bay blaze include: Deaths: 24 confirmed Believed missing: 25 Injured: 148 Structures destroyed: 2,700 single-family homes, condominiums and apartments Acres burned: 1,800 Losses: estimated at more than $5 billion Evacuated: 5,000 people No electricity: 1,000 people No gas service: 2,500 people SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, Oakland Fire Department, Red Cross, wire services

The Fire’s Destruction

Here is the area devastated by the East Bay blaze. Several of its known victims perished in the sector (inset) near the fire’s starting point. Only a few of the fatalities have been identified.

1. Capt. James Riley, Oakland fire battalion chief, 49, Martinez; Kimberly Robson, 37, Berkeley.

2. Oakland Police Officer John Grubensky, 32, Fairfield; Aina Turjanis, 64, Oakland, and Cheryl Turjanis, 25, Oakland.

3. Gail Baxter, 61.

4. Gregor McGuiness, age unknown.

5. Virginia Smith, 61, Oakland.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, Oakland Tribune and Oakland Fire Dept.