Fire Safety, Prevention and Preparedness
We URGE you to sign up to receive information on local incidents, evacuation alerts at Alameda County Emergency Alerts
Fire safety is a very high priority for PPNA. Here's a sampler of our current initiatives:
- For three decades, we've been diligently working to get our utility wires undergrounded
- We've hosted several fire safety forums and webinars (click here for copies of the presentations) to boost awareness of and knowledge about fire safety within our borders
- We reduce fuel load throughout the year in our open spaces, filling up several dumpsters with flammable green waste
- We borrow dumpsters from Waste Management for property owners' use in clearing fuel loads at home
- We partner with the City and fire safety councils working to design and fund projects to increase our safety, reduce fire danger, and to promote community involvement and adherence to safety standards
- We strive to improve emergency vehicle access on our skinny, snakey streets
- We are promoting a regional wildfire protection district across Alameda County and/or to re-establish the Wildfire Prevention Assessment District
- We've pushed the city to hire more tree maintenance staff and to better tend the fire load in city-owned open spaces
- We support French Broom-pulling parties, especially along Skyline
- We maintain key partnerships with organizations that share our goals and concerns, such as
What the City is doing to elevate the priority of fire safety
Our partner, Oakland Firesafe Council, has worked hard inside City Hall to elevate wildfire prevention to a top City priority. There has been solid forward movement. Until the launch of the Wildfire Prevention Working Group in 2020, City departments were not coordinated on the topic of wildfire prevention or large-scale emergency preparedness.
- On 11/19/2019, the Council passed a resolution declaring this priority and establishing a multi-disciplinary approach to designing and funding initiatives.
- On 9/15/2020, the City Administrator's office submitted a report to the Mayor and Council that addresses the history of efforts, dysfunctions and priorities for moving ahead. This report gives great background and demonstrates how critical it is to approach wildfire prevention across city departments and a variety of agencies. Download a copy of the report here. It's thorough, well-written and bodes hope for integrated planning and implementation.
Resources to stay up to date on current fire status
- CAL FIRE Active Incidents
- Alameda County Emergency Alerts (we URGE you to sign up to receive information on local incidents, evacuation alerts...)
- ABC7 Hourly Updates
- NBCBay Area Evacuation Updates
- San Francisco Chronicle California Fire Tracking Map
- PG&E outage tracker
Resources to get--and stay--prepared
- Make a GO BAG, an Emergency Preparedness Kit: Your top priority
- Oakland Fire Safe Council
- Oakland Community Preparedness & Response Program--webinars, guides, resources
- CAL FIRE Ready for Wildfire
- Alameda County Public Health - Wildfire Preparation
- Is your insurance adequate? Is renewal threatened? United Policyholders (UP) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) whose mission is to be a trustworthy and useful information resource and a respected voice for consumers of all types of insurance in all 50 states. UP doesn't take money from insurance companies.
Air Quality Resources
- Tips on staying safe in unhealthy air quality
- Air quality for our area
- Bay Area weather from the National Weather Service
Public Safety Power Shutoff Info
- Status of local Public Safety Power Shutoff
Manage your vegetation, reduce our fuel load
- One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire A 15-minute YouTube presentation with valuable tips and information on protecting your home and surrounding area from wildfire.
- Free chipping service
- Inspections and compliance standards
- Vegetation Inspection FAQ
- Year round protection and prevention calendar
- Reducing wildfire risk --city fact sheet