Hills Homeowners Plea to Officials
for Stronger Fire Protection

BERKELEY -- Berkeley and Oakland hills residents, saying they fear for their homes and lives, today urged local agencies to move forward on projects to help prevent the spread of fires.

"We've gone through the first steps of alleviating our fears," said Doris Willingham, president of the Claremont-Elmwood Neighborhood Association, during the 10th annual meeting today of the Hills Emergency Forum, a coalition of local agencies set up shortly after the 1991 Berkeley Hills fire. "But there is an enormous amount of work yet to be done. Considering conditions ten years ago, little has changed. Only when enormous fuel loads are removed can we breathe easy."

The forum has worked to clear high-risk eucalyptus trees and vegetation along roadways, while also setting standards for each agency to minimize fire risk.

The Berkeley Hills fire destroyed 1,600 acres, killed 25 people, and caused an estimated $1.5 billion in damage. UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor, Horace Mitchell, the Forum's 2002 committee chair, said that much progress has been made, though he added that state and federal budget limitations have hindered grant funding.

"One of the differences in the early work of the forum is that it was largely conceptual," said Mitchell. "Now, we are implementing strategies within the jurisdictions. We're listening to public comment about the value of what we're doing and what there is left to do."

In addition to state, county and federal grants, city tax revenues from Berkeley, Oakland, and El Cerrito have helped kick start some of the Forum's programs. Among the projects underway is a brush removal program in the Claremont Canyon, where residents have been particularly concerned with eucalyptus trees, which are particularly flammable. On Sept. 20, 2002 a Claremont Canyon a fire started by a car burned eight acres. Two other fires have occurred in the East Bay Hills this fire season.

"We've had real reminders to keep up our work," said Tom Klatt, director of Office of Emergency/Preparedness at UC Berkeley. The university owns some of the acreage burned in the recent Claremont fire.

Hills Emergency Forum projects underway include efforts to raise funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency grants for mitigation planning, local public education demonstrations, a fire modeling program developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the development of a unified standard of roadside clearance of 10 feet.

Community residents discussed the need for removal of deceased trees and better notification of exit access in case of emergency.

"I would like to see better maps of Panoramic Hill," said Ann Wagley of the Panoramic Hill Association. "The city maps don't show access to the Eastern side. What are the exit roads? We need to know."

Among the members on hand at the meeting was East Bay Regional Parks Fire Chief Dennis Rein, who has been working with community residents to clear their properties of vegetation. During 2002, the City of Berkeley inspected 565 homes in the Berkeley Hazardous Fire Area and 368 had violations.

"We've been asking people to clear out dead pine needles from gutters, cutting weeds, and removing obstacles that block fire engine access," said Rein.

The Hills Emergency Forum announced it would hold a workshop on fire safety on May 17, 2003 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Camp Arroyo in Livermore. The Hills Emergency Forum is made up of the following eight agencies: City of Berkeley, City of El Cerrito, City of Oakland, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, East Bay Municipal Utility District, East Bay Regional Park District, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley.