Witness in Ghost Ship criminal case testifies about ‘giant tent’ blocking passageway

On the night of the fatal fire at Ghost Ship, party organizers blocked a passageway on the second floor of the Oakland warehouse with a “giant tent like” structure, the first witness in a preliminary hearing in the criminal case said Wednesday.

“I made a comment saying, ‘What the hell is this thing,” recalled Oregon musician Aaron Marin about the tent structure that he said he had to push his way around to get to a window to escape during the fire. Marin had been visiting the collective on Dec. 2, 2016 when fire broke out in the middle of an electronic music concert on the warehouse’s second floor, where dozens of people were gathered.