Help clear vegetation debris in endangered yards on the Berkeley Ridge, near Tilden Park!
source: California OEHHA
The number of very large, difficult to control, wildfires per year in CA has tripled since the 1960s [CA OEHHA]. Berkeley is particularly exposed to uncontrollable wildfires coming from Tilden Park in NE winds, in conditions classified by the City of Berkeley as Extreme Fire Weather. In 1923, wildfire coming from Tilden Park razed one square mile of Berkeley, penetrating all the way to Shattuck and Hearst in 2 hours and 20 minutes.
To defend against the risk of deadly, destructive wildfire, the City of Berkeley has designated its NE edge, alongside Tilden Park [the “Grizzly Peak Mitigation Area”], as an area subject to more stringent regulations that will require homeowners to conduct additional wildfire safety mitigation. By creating a hardened bulwark against wildfire, Berkeley aims to protect residents from windblown embers that can ignite homes and trigger structure-to-structure fires, like those seen in Southern California in 2025.
Close to 50% of the homeowners in the area are seniors on fixed income, often with conditions that do not allow them to conduct wildfire mitigation activities on their own. HelpBerkeley.org, a non-profit FireSafe Council, in collaboration with the local Firewise neighborhood groups, assists homeowners who need help clearing defensible space by organizing and running defensible space clearing events with volunteers. HelpBerkeley is an established community service organization that provides grassroots support to Berkeley residents. During Covid HelpBerkeley volunteers delivered hundreds of thousands of meals to shut-in Berkeley residents, primarily seniors. HelpBerkeley has been active in wildfire prevention and safety since 2023.
Please help us make Berkeley safer from wildfire! No experience is necessary—goodwill is enough. We could use drivers, worksite managers, power tools users, pruners, photographers and more! Volunteer here: Volunteering for the good: wildfire safety in Berkeley