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public Agencies info
In case of an active or threatening wildfire, earthquake or other disaster, go to AC Alert. For more on how to prepare for wildfire, go to “what you can do” page.
The Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve
Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve is nestled in the Berkeley and Oakland hills behind the historic Claremont Hotel and adjacent to UC Berkeley's Hill Campus. The Preserve, part of the East Bay Regional Park District, is used by park goers primarily for its hiking trails. The Stonewall-Panoramic fire trail begins off of Stonewall Road, a block north of the Claremont Hotel. This steady .75 mile climb to the top is steep, but hikers are rewarded with a panoramic view of Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco Bay, and the Golden Gate Bridge. (See Wikipedia for more details.)
East Bay Regional Park District's 2010 Wildfire Hazard Reduction Plan and EIR
To reduce fire hazard on publicly-owned lands in the East Bay's wildland-urban interface to an acceptable level of risk To maintain and enhance ecological values for plant and wildlife habitat To preserve aesthetic landscape values for park users and neighboring communities To provide a vegetation management plan which is cost-effective to the District on an ongoing basis.
UC’s 2020 Hill Campus Wildland Vegetative Fuel Management Plan
UC received a CalFire grant in 2017 to treat vegetation in 250 acres in the upper parts of Strawberry and Claremont canyons to reduce wildfire hazard to its buildings and nearby homes, targeting areas forested with flammable eucalyptus and high fuel volume. As of 2020, the plan and EIR are still under review and are not finalized.
The Hills Emergency Forum is an interagency professional group to coordinate the collection, assessment and sharing of information on the East Bay Hills fire hazards and, further, to provide a forum for building consensus on the development of fire safety standards and codes, incident response and management protocols, public education programs, multi-jurisdictional training, and fuel reduction strategies. Member agencies include: City of Berkeley, City of El Cerrito, City of Oakland. East Bay Municipal Utility District, East Bay Regional Park District, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California Berkeley.
Former Councilmember Dan Kalb’s Wildfire Prevention Resources
Oakland District 1 Councilmember provides links to various resources from State and City departments and organizations dedicated to good fire safety policies and practices for the health and safety of all residents.
City of Berkeley's Wildfire Protection Program
Each year, thousands of acres of wild land and hundreds of homes are destroyed by wildfires. To help protect our families and property, there are certain precautionary steps we should all follow.
Wildfire Prevention Community Organizations
A grassroots community-based organization dedicated to mobilizing the people of Oakland to reduce the risks of wildfire danger to people and property through outreach, programs, and projects.
Oakland Community Preparedness & Response Program
A programmatic offering of the Oakland Firesafe Council providing community workshops, online information, and detailed guides to increase community level preparedness disaster response for residents of Oakland.
Diablo Fire Safe Council was founded in 1998 as a non-profit coalition of public and private agencies whose mission is to Pre serve and Enhance the natural and manmade resources of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties by mobilizing all East Bay reidents to make their homes, neighborhoods and communities firesafe.
East Bay Hills Wildfire Prevention and Vegetation Management Coordination
This is a grassroots advocacy effort to promote coordination to reduce wildfire threat throughout the East Bay Hills. Wildfires do not respect political boundaries so fire prevention and vegetation management should be regional efforts. But coordinating among the many jurisdictions, fire districts, and other regional agencies in the East Bay wildfire zone is an impossible challenge without a clear framework for coordination, formalized by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
UP was formed in the aftermath of the 1991 Oakland Tunnel Fire to help level the playing field between insurers and insureds at a time when residents struggled with serious and unexpected gaps in their insurance coverage. No insurance companies underwrite or fund their programs. Donations, foundation grants and volunteer labor support the organization’s work.
Neighborhood Groups
North Hills Community Association
The North Hills Community Association is a nonprofit organization formed by the homeowners in the North Oakland Hills, some of which are also represented by smaller neighborhood groups. The association is a successor organization to the North Hills Phoenix Association which was created after the 1991 Oakland Hills fire in order to help residents rebuild and to ensure that fire safety would serve as a guiding principle in rebuilding. North Hills Community association speaks for our concerns about issues like fire safety at City Hall and elsewhere. It disseminates information about decisions or services which impact the community.
Claremont-Elmwood Neighborhood Association
The primary goal of the Claremont-Elmwood Neighborhood Association (CENA) is to make their neighborhood a safe and desirable place to live, and to keep our residents informed about important issues in the City and the neighborhood. They monitor traffic and transportation, crime and public safety, emergency preparedness, open space, the local business environment, city planning and the University of California's impact on our community, and interface with other neighborhood associations. CENA is a forum where neighbors can discuss issues of concern with their neighbors.
Panoramic Hill has been called "Berkeley's Most Romantic Neighborhood" by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, and few would disagree. The hill contains many one-of-a-kind houses which were designed to complement their hilly, irregular lots. Despite the sometimes oppressive presence of Memorial Stadium at its base, the hill maintains a remote, unspoiled quality which enhances the presence of its numerous historic dwellings - many by well-known California architects. Although only one principal road, Panoramic Way, serves the hill, several old paths and public steps provide access for the hardy to its higher elevations (about 1000 ft above sea level). Surrounded on three sides by hiking trails, canyons, ridges and open land, the Hill offers a rare combination of natural beauty, context sensitive development, spectacular vistas and convenience to the University and downtown Berkeley.
Vicente Canyon Neighborhood Association
Vicente Canyon is a small, residential canyon just south of Claremont Canyon. It has an active neighborhood association.
Vicente Canyon Hillside Foundation
This is a non-profit organization with about 60 members. The foundation owns and manages a small park, which is open to the public. The park’s entrance is up a set of wooden stairs near 146 Vicente Road.
Various subgroups within Hiller Highlands.
Local Environmental Groups
Wildlife in the North Hills by Kay Loughman
Kay Loughman is a Founding Sponsor of the Claremont Canyon Conservancy and long time birder. A member of several birding and conservation organizations, she maintains a list of birds and other wildlife observed in the North Hills of Oakland, including part of Claremont Canyon, and publishes this list monthly on the North Hills Community Association's Open Forum. The website contains photo galleries with pictures of wildlife, plants, and fungi found in the canyon, lists of plants, records of bird sightings, recommendations for field guides, and a booklet showing the most common wildlife species found in the canyon.
The Garber Park Stewards' mission is to safeguard the native wildland resources of Garber Park while reducing the risk of wildfire and improving the trail system. Garber Park is a 13-acre City of Oakland woodland park located behind the Claremont Hotel. The mile long Loop Trail takes us through a forest of oaks, Bay Laurel, Big Leaf Maples and California Buckeyes to the 1920's era stone Fireplace Plaza.
California Native Plant Society-East Bay Chapter
The East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, covering Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, works to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve this rich resource for future generations.
San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club
The San Francisco Bay Chapter is the local branch of the Sierra Club, America's largest and most effective grassroots environmental organization.
Friends of Five Creeks is a community volunteer organization dedicated to the stewardship of creeks in northern Alameda County and western Contra Costa, California, United State. Education about wildlife and restoration is a major facet of the FFC's mission.
Friends of Sausal Creek. Sausal Creek begins in the hills of Oakland, CA and runs through Oakland to San Francisco Bay. The Friends are a group of residents, teachers, students, merchants, and elected officials working together with the City of Oakland and County of Alameda to improve the Sausal Creek watershed. The Friends' mission is "to promote awareness and appreciation of the Sausal Creek watershed, and to inspire action to preserve and protect the creek and its watershed as both a natural resource and a community resource."
California Invasive Plant Council
Cal-IPC's mission is to protect California's lands and waters from ecologically-damaging invasive plants through science, education and policy.
BAY NATURE is the first magazine to explore the natural world of the San Francisco Bay Area.
For decades the trail in Derby Canyon (sometimes referred to as the Clark Kerr Trail) was unmaintained and dangerous. Steep slopes, deep ruts, narrow footing and poison oak kept most people off the trail. Take To The Hills formed and sought permission from the landowners to repair the trail in 2015. The trail is now frequently used by UC students and many others.
Walking/Hiking
Berkeley Path Wanderers Association (BPWA) is a grassroots volunteer group of community members who have come together to increase public awareness of the City of Berkeley’s pathways. BPWA hopes to accomplish this goal through volunteer-led path walks; identification and accurate mapping of Berkeley’s complete path network; and eventual restoration of paths that have been blocked or obscured. We hope the final outcome of the community effort will be the preservation and ongoing maintenance of all the paths, lanes and steps throughout Berkeley.
