Berkeley

Berkeley Fire Department Hosts Wildfire Evacuation Preparedness Workshop

Published

6 years ago

September 16, 2020

The Berkeley Fire Department hosted a wildfire evacuation preparedness workshop on Sept. 10. About 340 residents attended the meeting, which was hosted on Zoom.

“As the last few weeks have made profoundly clear, we’re all affected by wildfire regardless of whether we live within the city limits or not,“ said Khin Chin, a Berkeley resident who has worked for the city Fire Department’s Office of Emergency Services for 12 years. “It’s really amazing what a month of smoke, red skies and statewide fires can do to help advertise a workshop like this.”

Chin facilitated the meeting with Katie Hawn, an Emergency Services coordinator for Berkeley who has recently focused largely on COVID-19 response.

Chin and Hawn started the workshop by emphasizing that wildfires are a real danger in Berkeley. In 1923, a wildfire spread from the Berkeley hills and destroyed about 600 homes. Climate catastrophe has increased the risk of it happening again.

“It can happen in Berkeley. It has happened in Berkeley,” said Chin.

If a wildfire strikes in Berkeley, the city likely will not have the capacity to evacuate people, so, according to Chin, “self-evacuation makes up the majority of the community response.”

Chin and Hawn encouraged people to pay attention to the National Weather Service for Red Flag warnings, which are most likely to occur in dry, low humidity, high wind conditions.

“Anytime you hear the Red Flag warnings you should begin your preparations to be ready to evacuate,” said Chin.

To prepare for evacuation, the workshop stressed that it’s important to have a list of supplies and important things you would like to have and save and to be aware of where they are. The list could include medications, supplies for pets, important documents, medical supplies, water, and important irreplaceable items. Hawn suggested bringing games, like cards, to prepare for lots of downtimes while evacuated.

Besides the go-bag of important supplies, make sure to have charging devices for your phones, computers, etc. Spreading the word is also helpful for others.

If you have the ability to evacuate by vehicle, make sure that the vehicle has a full tank of gas. The organizers also stressed finding more than one route to major roads in case certain roads become impassible and, if possible, making arrangements with friends or family who you could stay with the outside of the area ahead of time. If you are forced to evacuate and have no friends or family to stay with, they suggest finding a parking lot that is outside of the evacuated area.

For those who will have difficulties evacuating, which will mean taking more time, Chin and Hawn suggest pre-evacuating on Red Flag warning days if possible.

One Berkeley resident named Phyllis who’s 86 and lives in the Berkeley Hills, said she pre-evacuated to stay with her grandson in El Cerrito twice recently when Red Flag warnings were issued for the Berkeley Hills. There was no wildfire but she was still glad she pre-evacuated as it made her feel safer and less stressed.

“I would have been scared to be by myself and I wouldn’t have slept those nights probably,” she said.

During an evacuation, Chin and Hawn suggest paying attention to the 1610 AM, an emergency advisory radio station. They suggest programming it into your radio ahead of time. Residents should also sign up for an emergency alert notification system suggesting www.acalert.org.

The workshop stressed the importance of preparing ahead of time so you can have some control over your evacuation if it is necessary.

“When you feel really out of control,” said Chin, “that’s when things are the scariest.”

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Bay Area

UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley.

The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries

By Lila Thulin

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.

Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.

Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.

“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.

This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.

In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.

That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

Oakland Post

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Arts and Culture

Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh

The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Published

10 months ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Farwest Regional Director, Kimberly Usher, Mayor Barbara Lee, US Representative Lateefah Simon, and Farwest Regional Representative, Radiya Ajibade. Photo courtesy of Farwest Regional Photographer Vicki P. Love.

By Antoinette Porter

Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.

Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.

Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.

A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.

Oakland Post

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Arts and Culture

Cal Performances Presents Angélique Kidjo & Yo-Yo Ma in Sarabande Africaine at UC Berkeley Greek Theatre on Aug. 30

On Saturday, Aug. 30, the pair will debut the Bay Area premiere of Sarabande Africaine, joined by pianist Thierry Vaton, percussionist David Donatien, and special guest Sinkane. The program illuminates centuries of musical interplay between African traditions and Western classical forms, using the Baroque sarabande dance, and its African ancestor, the Congolese spirit dance Zarabanda, as a gateway to exploring the deep, interconnected roots of global music.

Published

10 months ago

August 25, 2025

Oakland Post

Angelique Kidjo and Yo-Yo Ma. Wikimedia photos.

By Carla Thomas

On Labor Day weekend two of the world’s most celebrated musicians and cultural ambassadors, Grammy Award–winning vocalist Angélique Kidjo and legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma join forces for an evening of music, history, and cultural dialogue at UC Berkeley’s historic Hearst Greek Theatre.

Both Kidjo and Ma have built careers not only as great performers but as passionate advocates for cultural understanding. Sarabande Africaine is as much a conversation about shared heritage as it is a musical performance, blending genres, geographies, and histories.

“Every day there are moments when all of us can feel we are on the inside of something and also when we feel we are on the outside of something,” said Yo-Yo Ma. “To be able to understand both at the same time and oscillate between the two gives us a larger perspective on the world.”

“If your mind is open, and there is no fear, it’s easier to listen, and to question yourself,” said Kidjo.

The upcoming performance is presented within Cal Performances’ Illuminations: “Exile & Sanctuary” series for the 2025–26 season. The production explores exile as more than just physical displacement, but a disruption in identity and belonging, while sanctuary represents both refuge and the creative space where new connections and communities can take shape.

Cal Performances’ Illuminations bridges performances with UC Berkeley’s academic research, pairing the arts with conversations about urgent global issues.

Kidjo’s continued partnership with Cal Performances includes her 2021–22 artist-in-residence, premiering her music-theater work Yemandja, set in 19th-century West Africa during the transatlantic slave trade.

She also participated in the Bias in Our Algorithms and Society panel alongside campus leaders like Jennifer Chayes, and joined the Black Studies Collaboratory for a dialogue on music, diaspora, and the world.

She has since returned to Berkeley for multiple performances, most recently in 2024 at Zellerbach Hall.

Yo-Yo Ma’s history with Cal Performances spans decades, beginning in 1997. One notable project includes the 2018 performance of Bach’s complete cello suites at the Greek Theatre, a testament to his devotion to creating “transformative concert experiences in iconic spaces.”

For tickets and more information, visit calperformances.org.