By Feb. 16, use survey to help shape future wildfire prevention

As the City of Berkeley learns from wildfire disasters elsewhere, including the Los Angeles area, complete survey to help inform potential measures to reduce wildfire risks.

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Take a wildfire readiness survey to help shape City efforts to reduce wildfire risks, especially those vulnerabilities shared with urban areas like Los Angeles that have been devasted by recent infernos.

The survey will ask questions about which wildfire measures you have taken to protect your home and surrounding property while also inquiring about which city programs you might have used to do that work.

Berkeley Fire has identified several weaknesses shared by communities that have seen firestorms tear through wildlands and into urban areas. These risks include homes built under old building codes, lack of 5-foot buffer zones around homes without flammable materials, and inadequate prevention measures at key wildfire pathways.

Complete the Wildfire Readiness Survey to help shape Berkeley's future wildfire prevention strategies.

Berkeley's landscape poses risks

Berkeley's dense hillside landscape - made up of many older homes without fire-resistant upgrades and ember resistant zones - makes it easier for wildfires to spread quickly from nearby wildlands. The vulnerabilities in our landscape include:

• Homes built before 2008 but not modernized with "hardening" physical upgrades, such as to the roof or vents, for greater resistance to direct flame, radiant heat and embers.
• The need for buffer zones between homes and vegetation, especially a 5-foot space immediately around a property without plants, wood mulch, fences or other flammable materials.
• The need for more fire prevention measures in the City at locations where wildfires will enter the community.

Climate change has also led to more frequent extreme fire weather, further exposing the threat posed by those weaknesses.

Other communities have seen similar vulnerabilities

When neighborhoods have multiple fire risks - like flammable buildings, dense housing, and a lack of defensible space, especially close to the home - whole cities become more vulnerable to wildfire risk. In California, we've seen wildfire spreading into large neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Paradise, Santa Rosa, and, of course, Oakland and Berkeley in 1991. We've also seen them in Lahaina, Hawaii, and Boulder County, Colorado.

These factors repeatedly create wind-driven wildfires that quickly jump from building to building, creating numerous, simultaneous structure fires. These conditions overwhelm available firefighting resources and outpace evacuation efforts.

With your input we can understand prevention efforts the community is taking and better prepare our City by taking additional measures to reduce risks across the whole community.

The Berkeley Fire Department will also be presenting potential changes the City of Berkeley could implement in the wake of the recent Southern California fires at a special City Council Work session on February 11 at 4:00 pm.

Connect with the City by taking the short online Wildfire Readiness Survey by 5:00 pm on February 16 to share your experiences, challenges, and ideas.

Links

• Wildfire Readiness Survey (City of Berkeley)
• Creating Defensible Space (City of Berkeley)
• Fire Chief Sprague's Los Angeles Wildfire Statement
• Harden your home against wildfire (City of Berkeley)
• Research Studies:
Paradise Fire
Lahaina Fire
Boulder Fire
Scientific Ember Testing (YouTube)