2025-05-03 Early Lessons from the SoCal Fires by Chief Revilla of BFD

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Chief Kevin Revilla, of the Berkeley Fire Department, gave this presentation at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church On May 3, 2025. There was an audience of approximately 60 people, and numerous questions followed. The audio record from the presentation is available in this post.

Notes from the presentation [thanks to Gary Croner and Becky Mills]

  • Kevin Revilla, the fire department Firewise liaison presented what was
    learned from the LA Fires.

  • In summary, there are similarities between there and here in terms of topography, weather, fuel availability and density.

  • The fires there and recent Northern California fires location like Paradise
    and Santa Rosa (Coffey Park was an ember fire) have lit a fire under the
    fire department to push for action now.

  • The research about what happened in LA is incomplete.

  • The newer homes near the edge WUI were safer (they were benefited by newer defensible space/house hardening standards).

  • Partially decomposed mulch was recommended to the people redoing the garden near the Park Hills fountain (as opposed to regular wood mulch). It may be OK for areas beyond zone 0 only (not within zone 0).

  • Chief Dave Winnacker (recently retired as Chief of Orinda-Moraga Fire District), who was involved with the Alameda County study of fire risks, which was also presented to the city council, has joined the fire department.

After the presentation and questions on the SoCal Fires, Chief Winnacker fielded general wildfire questions. Here are some notable points he made:

  • He was asked about the possibility of a more nuanced, case by case,
    assessment of compliance with the upcoming EMBER rules. He noted the
    difficulty of enforcing a plan in which each home has a different set of
    requirements based on their individual plants, home siding, etc. This would
    likely result in inconsistent decisions made by individual inspectors and
    puts an impossible burden and liability on them.

  • The city has been considering a red flag easement for 5-6 years (originally promoted by current fire chief David Sprague’s predecessor), to support safe passage during evacuations.

  • Prescribed fire usage not a good option here.

  • There are trees that are worse ember fire risks than Eucalyptus. Any trees more than 100’ away are decoupled from a structure in terms of fire risk. When closer to a house, home hardening offers better protection than
    removing the tree. Rather than removal, it is more important to remove
    debris on the ground and the loose bark from the tree. As has been noted
    elsewhere, this can be a lot of work.

  • After the presentation a number of attendees continued asking both
    presenters questions. Chief Winnacker said it was unlikely we would get a
    crown-driven fire here. This surprised the questioner because she
    thought Tilden from SeaView Trail down and across to Wildcat Canyon there’s plenty of tree fuel and the conditions for a big crown fire.

Different source: Q&A Notes from Anand Varma

  • Q: What kinds of homes survived the LA fires?

    • A: Still being determined, but those homes immediately adjacent to the wildland interface were more likely to be spared. That is probably because they were hardened with better defensible space. Homes further from that interface experienced a different kind of fire because as fire starts to jump from home to home, it behaves differently than when it moves through wildland vegetation. It is much harder to fight when those homes don’t have defensible space.

  • Q: Can prescribed fires be done in the East Bay parks?

    • A: No. There would be too many complaints over smoke and too much risk of litigation

  • Q: Should different zone 0 rules apply to homes with stucco or other nonflammable siding?

    • A: No. If there is fuel burning within a couple of feet of your home, it will eventually find a weak point to get in. For example, there is a gap to allow for ventilation at the base of stucco siding, which would allow the tar paper behind the stucco to ignite.

  • Q: Isn’t clearing eucalyptus more important than clearing zone 0?

    • A: No. Eucalyptus does produce bark that is flammable, but there are several tree species like ponderosa pine that actually pose higher risk. The best way to defend your home is to ensure that embers and firebrands that are coming from burning vegetation have nothing to ignite immediately next to your home. Removing all eucalyptus would not eliminate the fire risk nor would undergrounding wires.

  • Q: If my neighbor’s yard was full of eucalyptus, is there anything I should be worried about other than embers?

    • A: If the tree is more than 100 feet away from your home, then no. If it is less than 100 feet, it could produce enough heat to be a threat to your home, in which case double pane windows with tempered glass are important to have on the side of your home facing the trees.

  • Q: Is the five feet of Zone 0 measured from the base of your home or the side of your home?

    • A: It is measured at ground level. Mature trees are exempt and do not need to be removed.

  • Q: Do I need to screen all of the vent pipes coming vertically out of my roof?

    • A: Generally no. Embers flying in high wind have a hard time making a 90 degree turn into a vertical pipe and exhaust vents and fireplace vents are lined with metal so there is nothing to burn if an ember does enter the pipe.

  • Q: Are roof sprinklers helpful?

    • A: No. If they are drawing from the municipal water supply, they will reduce water pressure and make it harder for firefighters to have enough water to do their job. Even if they are drawing from a different source like a pool, all the water will get blown away on a windy day. As long as you don’t have a wood shingle roof and your gutters are clear, your roof is not the most likely place fire will enter your home.

  • Q: Is fire-resistant paint a good option for hardening our homes?

    • A: No. There is no way to tell when it has lost its effectiveness and it needs to be reapplied every 6 months or so.

Reference (audio only, presentation only) [thanks to @MarissaMoss]

More interesting information about the LA fires

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Additional Comment from Arnand Varma after the Q&A session

My thoughts on EMBER:

I personally cannot say that I am an enthusiastic supporter of EMBER. But I have chosen to accept it based on my experience with our insurance company.

We chose to buy our home on Creston in 2023 on the condition that we could get an insurance policy that was not the FAIR plan. We got a reasonably affordable plan from Mercury only to be promptly dropped a month after we moved in due to lack of defensible space. I called my insurance broker in a panic (Natalie Richie at Alive insurance) and she advised me to cut all the vegetation within 5 feet of my home and send in photos.

I bought a chainsaw and cut down the dogwood, the Bloodgood maple, the wisteria, the jasmine, and everything else within five feet. To my surprise, Mercury reinstated my policy.

I now get a statement from them that shows a discount for having defensible space. I count myself lucky in a way because I didn’t have a chance to become attached to those plants. I can only imagine how much harder it would have been if I had been the one to plant them 10+ years ago.

Mercury did not require me to replace my gates or fences so that part will be a lot harder and more expensive. But even if EMBER does not pass, I assume I will still have to replace them the next time the insurance inspector comes by.

Chief Winnacker also convinced me that insurance and EMBER aside, addressing the gates and fences will have a meaningful impact on saving my home from fire. Speaking with him after the meeting inspired me to write to you all today.

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