Oakland hills group, Fire Department vigilant at year’s riskiest time

One of the best ways to prevent loss due to urban wildfire for people in the East Bay who own homes or properties is low-tech, requires minimal physical exertion and is entirely free: Getting to know your neighbors.

This idea comes not from feel-good anecdotes or wishful thinking but is the most shared advice offered in separate interviews with Carolyn Burgess and Michael Hunt, two people whose life experiences, careers and volunteer activities have made them experts in urban wildfire prevention and readiness. Burgess is the North Hills Community Association’s (NHCA) public safety chair and second vice chair, and Hunt is the Oakland Fire Department’s public information officer.

Involved for 12 years with the NHCA (northhillscommunity.org), Burgess lost her home in the catastrophic 1991 Oakland hills fire that killed 25 people, injured 150 individuals, destroyed 3,469 homes and apartment units and burned 2,000 automobiles.

Kaiser Industries cleaned up the area, but residents were left by themselves to rebuild and formed groups such as the NHCA, whose central purpose is using science, industry, awareness and community participation to prevent anything like the 1991 fire from happening again. Advocacy, outreach and education are organizational pillars, but personal connections in 2023 remain crucial to making all other aspects of the NHCA function optimally.

“I get questions online and either answer them or direct them to city of Oakland departments, the people who are the experts,” Burgess said. “We bring people up to Gateway Gardens, pop-up social events and have quarterly meetings about fire safety and crime that are well attended, but It’s remarkably effective to get to know your neighbors.

“People move here because they want space, and many new families didn’t live through the 1991 fire and might not even have heard of it, so it’s hard. People don’t like to talk about unhappy things. We talk in positive ways and remind them these fires happen quickly so it’s vital to be prepared.”

Being prepared this year is as important as ever, despite a wet winter season that can lead to less vigilant mitigation efforts. The city of Oakland sends people out to evaluate properties and will offer suggestions for improving fire safety, such as removing branches from tree trunks that are 8 feet above ground or lower; cutting tall grass and clearing leaves to create a defensible space around structures; and closing openings below buildings where embers travel and spark fires.

“In the hills, there are pine and eucalyptus trees that have great potential to burn,” Burgess said. “The eucalyptus sheds leaves that have oil that are high fuel sources, as are dry pine needles on roofs. Embers in high winds travel more than one-quarter mile, and fuel creates opportunities for sparking fires. It comes back to anticipating that in a wildfire urban area, things happen in a flash.”

Prohibiting highly flammable materials like shake (wood-shingled) roofs; reducing dense grass and brush in city-owned areas with grazing goats; encouraging the use of fire-safe construction materials; and inspecting to ensure strong adherence to safety codes are helpful measures that communities and fire departments use, but Burgess points out that top-grade glass, mowed grass and concrete do not create fortresses when it comes to fires like the one in 1991.

“The cement in the area where we live turned pink and had to be removed. The fire was about 124 degrees, so glass melted. There’s no requirement to build with fire-safe new construction materials, but it’s encouraged. Unfortunately, it costs more, so people tend not to use higher-grade materials.”

In early June, the Oakland Fire Department announced a pilot wildfire detection program involving a partnership with the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Science & Technology Directorate, TechNexus Venture Collaborative and technology company N5 Sensors. The OFD’s Hunt says speaking in 2022 with experts at a public safety conference led to the department acquiring 10 sensors that are now installed throughout the wildlife urban interface in Oakland.

“We receive notification when the air sensors detect something in the environment indicating particulates in the air,” said Hunt. “The alert gets sent to the vendor and then to our fire dispatch and (wall-projected) dashboard. It’s one more tool, in addition to direct inspections of 25,000 private and city-owned land parcels that start June 12 and run to late November.

“The goats we have clear 1,000 hillside acres each year, but community groups like NHCA are probably the most critical piece of the fire prevention process. The OFD is an incredible insurance policy for people in Oakland, but nothing is better than neighbor-to-neighbor interaction to build trust and ensure awareness. It’s paramount to what we do.”

Hunt said the department’s communication with people like Burgess has never been better than it currently is, with updates about evacuation plans and changes in fire safety codes flowing through weekly phone calls and online. The same heightened rate of interaction is true of messaging the public, he said.

“Especially with so much news now about climate change and wildfire risks, we have an attentive audience. We also have a broader range of tools to connect directly with residents,” Hunt said. “We use social media, Nextdoor, Listserve, Nexus, AC Alert and other systems to communicate seamlessly with residents. I can press “go” on AC Alert, and in a few seconds I can reach 15,000 Oakland residents with information to evacuate or to alert them to hazards in the area.”

Parking is a challenge that Hunt and Burgess said is tough and ongoing. Hunt said not just residents, but visitors to places like downtown Piedmont and Montclair Village need to comply with baseline regulations but also think about emergency vehicles.

“If you park where your vehicle is less than 20 feet away from vehicles cross the street, that’s not enough,” he said. “Thinking about first responders getting through is always crucial.”

Burgess said narrow roads, steep inclines and tight corners in residential areas create nightmares for emergency vehicles and ambulances. Because city staff lack the personnel for 24-hour parking enforcement, she suggested homeowners remind each other to park in garages, ask visitors or renters in the area’s increasing accessory dwelling units not to park on streets and plan more than one evacuation route.

Hunt said the good news amid their words of warning is that Oakland residents and property owners are about 90% compliant with fire safety measures. With fire season in California now year-round, he said, “know your neighbor and help each other to remain safe” remains a good way prevent future fires.

Reach freelance writer Lou Fancher at lou@johnsonandfancher.com.