Bay Area

Give feedback on draft plan to reduce wildfire risks

Use a short survey to help refine a wide-ranging plan to improve how the City and community members can prepare for and respond to wildfires. The survey, which closes March 15, will ask for your priorities and actions individually, as a neighbor, and as a community. The plan covers issues including wildfire response, community preparedness, fuel management, infrastructure, ignition reduction, and home hardening.

Published

3 years ago

March 13, 2023

Oakland Post

The draft Community Wildfire Protection Plan sets out a multi-year program with five priority strategies and an action plan with multiple projects.

By March 15, 2023, complete a survey to help guide how to better prepare for the threat posed by wildfires, especially in the hills.

Use a short survey to help refine a wide-ranging plan to improve how the City and community members can prepare for and respond to wildfires.

The survey, which closes March 15, will ask for your priorities and actions individually, as a neighbor, and as a community. The plan covers issues including wildfire response, community preparedness, fuel management, infrastructure, ignition reduction, and home hardening.

We will use your input to finalize our plan to protect Berkeley from wildfires. Hills neighborhoods are particularly vulnerable, where wildfires can spread quickly and uncontrollably.

The final step in the planning process will be to incorporate comments on the draft and submit it for adoption to the City of Berkeley Fire Department, CAL FIRE Santa Clara Unit, and the Berkeley City Council.

Read the draft plan and complete the survey by March 15.

DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN

The draft Community Wildfire Protection Plan sets out a multi-year program with five priority strategies and an action plan with multiple projects. The draft plan includes:

Existing natural and built conditions, firefighting resources, regulatory context, and current plans and policies
Findings of community input from the previous three online surveys
Prioritization of hazard reduction strategies, programs, projects, and activities drawing from the nationally recognized Fire Adapted Communities Framework
Berkeley’s five highest priority projects, along with their roles, responsibilities, relative funding needs, and timetables

This plan is one of several disaster preparedness projects the Berkeley Fire Department is leading to better ready our community for disasters. Measure FF, a parcel tax approved by Berkeley voters in 2020, provided funding for these efforts.

Stay informed when you sign up for our email newsletter, visit the project webpage, or email us your questions and comments.