Hundreds Mourn Oakland Warehouse Fire Victims

People attend a vigil for the victims of the fatal warehouse fire in Oakland, California, on Dec. 5, 2016.

The California warehouse where at least 36 people died last week has been on regulators' radar for almost two decades, according to government records.

A woman holds flowers at a vigil for the victims, on Dec. 5.

A habitability investigation of the Oakland warehouse — which had been converted without permits into a hive-like artists' collective known as the "Ghost Ship" — was still pending when the building erupted in flames Friday night during a regular weekly party, according to government records.

Hundreds of people attend a vigil for the victims, on Dec. 5.

The vigil turned into a political confrontation Monday night as saddened, angry participants shouted down the city's mayor with obscenities and boos.

Tex Allen, offers hugs for mourners during a vigil in memory of victims at Lake Merritt, on Dec. 5.

Mourners embrace near the site of the warehouse fire, on Dec. 5.

Oakland fire captain Chris Foley wipes his brow at the site of the warehouse fire, on Dec. 5.

Family members and friends are being notified as firefighters continue a painstaking search for victims of the Oakland warehouse fire. 

Emergency personnel stage in front of the site of the warehouse fire, on Dec. 4.

The death toll was expected to rise, as crews using buckets and shovels slowly made their way through the building, finding victims where they least expected them, Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly said.

A woman prays at the makeshift memorial, in Oakland, on Dec. 4, 2016.

Mourners embrace near the site of the warehouse fire, on Dec. 4.

Firefighters work inside the burned warehouse following the fatal fire, on Dec. 4.

Officials had still only cleared 70 percent of the building before they were forced to issue a temporary work stoppage due to the astounding amount of damage to the warehouse, which was full of art and had been used as a residential property — despite not having permits for people to live there.

A unidentified man falls to the ground after speaking to authorities outside the destroyed warehouse, on Dec. 3.

People gather near the warehouse, on Dec. 3.

Flowers are placed on a post outside a police line, on Dec. 3.

A woman becomes emotional while speaking on the phone near the scene of the fire tragedy, on Dec. 3. 

Smoke pours from the warehouse, which caught fire during a dance party, on Dec. 3, 2016.