BFD declares “extreme fire weather” and asks Hills to leave by 8 p.m

The Berkeley Fire Department has declared a state of “extreme fire weather” from 8 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday and has advised everyone in the Berkeley Hills to preemptively evacuate their homes and head downhill before the 8 p.m. start.

The alarm came just a few hours after a one-acre fire broke out in the Oakland hills near Interstate 580 and Keller Avenue, prompting evacuations in the area.

“Extreme fire weather” is a Berkeley-specific designation that goes into effect when wind speeds and humidity create particularly risky conditions in Berkeley during a “Red Flag Warning” — a National Weather Service designation that went into effect Thursday would,” said a message sent via AC Alert shortly after 3 p.m. on Friday.

This is the first time extreme fire weather has been reported since the department began making the designation in 2021.

“These rare and dangerous conditions were last observed in October 2020. “They exceed Berkeley’s extreme fire weather threshold – a trigger for the Berkeley Fire Department to take additional preparedness measures beyond the actions we take with each alert,” the alert reads. “Because a fire that breaks out under these conditions could spread quickly, we have activated our emergency operations center, deployed additional firefighters and vehicles and increased police patrols in the hills.”

Humidity is expected to remain low and sustained winds of 15 to 25 mph were forecast.

BFD has issued these advisories for residents in the city's most fire-prone areas:

• If you live in fire zone 2 or 3, you should consider moving to lower elevation until the dangerous weather subsides – especially if you would have difficulty getting out quickly if you were to evacuate. Leaving the area during times of increased threat is the best way to maintain control and minimize your risk.
• Stay with friends, family or a hotel until the dangerous weather subsides. BFD has partnered with Visit Berkeley to secure firefighting discounts for Berkeley residents at five local hotels during extreme fire weather. There will also be an increased police presence in the hills to provide additional security as people step out of their homes.
• Be prepared to evacuate by using Berkeley's emergency map: Download the Genasys Protect app to receive real-time alerts about status changes or emergencies in zones you care about, and find your evacuation zone on the map website referenced in AC Alert evacuation alerts. (Example: “BER-E044” is Berkeley Zone 44) and learn more about the city's emergency warning devices, such as the Outdoor Warning System.
• Have travel bags ready and placed at the door and discuss evacuation plans with your household. Park off-street to clear the roadway for emergency vehicles and park back in your driveway or garage to make it easier to exit quickly. For more information on how to prepare, visit the Fire Weather and Evacuation webpage.
• Secure patio furniture: Bring patio furniture, umbrellas, grills, and other items that could be blown away in high winds indoors or find another way to secure them.

“Please remain vigilant and prepare to evacuate if necessary. The strongest winds – and greatest danger – will prevail overnight. Keep your phone on, adjust the volume, turn off the Do Not Disturb settings, and keep it nearby. Place your travel bags and shoes by the door and discuss evacuation plans with your family before bed,” the warning said. “If you feel threatened, leave immediately – do not wait for an evacuation order. Consider self-evacuating if you see visible fire nearby or strong winds are carrying smoke or embers through your neighborhood.”

Berkeley Fire has requested additional personnel, including personnel to man an additional fire engine in the Berkeley Hills, Chief David Sprague said Friday. With much of the Oakland Fire Department busy fighting the fire in the city's eastern hills, Berkeley sent an engine company to Oakland on Friday afternoon for mutual aid, but that company was expected back in Berkeley “in a few hours,” Sprague said. “We assume that we are fully staffed and everyone will be here.”

But those firefighters can only work effectively if they're not fighting oncoming evacuation traffic, which is “the main reason we're asking residents to consider leaving,” Sprague said.

Berkeley's typical wind pattern brings cool, moist air from San Francisco Bay. But as high-pressure systems form over the Great Basin region, the air moves toward lower-pressure areas along the California coast — warming and largely drying out — and can blow over the hills east of Berkeley for days, blowing foliage along the way discolor, trees and undergrowth into matchsticks.

The persistently low humidity in the Berkeley Hills is particularly drying out “light, conspicuous fuels” — grasses, leaves, mosses and the like — so they are currently “tind dry,” Sprague said.

Wind conditions like these preceded the devastating Berkeley Hills Fire of 1923, which destroyed hundreds of homes and left thousands homeless, and the 1991 Tunnel Fire, which killed dozens of people, injured 150 and destroyed 3,500 homes and apartments.

“So we actually created the term 'extreme fire weather' by looking at the ignition of several major wildfires in California,” Sprague said. While conditions in Berkeley may be slightly less severe than in disaster areas, “we're still in the most extreme weather zone,” he said.

BFD also provided these links:

• Fire weather and evacuation
• Bookmark the Berkeley emergency map on your web browser and phone, and note how to use the search function to find places that are important to you.
• Use our one-page Wildfire Evacuation Checklist: (PDF) to track important evacuation tasks
• Use our fire weather planning tool to decide when to leave, where to stay and what to pack
• Visit FireSafe Berkeley to learn more about programs to protect your property and community.
• No PSPS is currently expected for Berkeley, but that could change depending on conditions. Check PG&E's Outage Center for information about power outages and PSPS.