A new proposal to slow down wildfires in Berkeley asks residents to do more to keep the whole community safe.
The Berkeley Fire Department is proposing the city expand defined fire hazard zones starting next year. Aligning with Cal Fire's recommendation, the fire department wants to require people who live in the Grizzly Peak and Panoramic Hill areas to create five feet of defensible space around their homes, regulate vegetation and eliminate combustible materials.
"This is about protecting the neighborhoods in those areas," Councilmember Brent Blackaby said. "In the process of protecting those neighborhoods, we also protect the rest of the city by building this kind of buffer."
Officials want to eventually phase in all of the Berkeley Hills neighborhoods and broader Berkeley areas. The three-phased approach also looks to include new building codes for new developments and remodels that would require non-combustible siding and fire resistant roofs.
The proposal comes after the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area that killed dozens and reduced neighborhoods to rubble.
"It is a big ask," Blackaby said. "I'm being asked to do it. We are all being asked to do it. But it's only because it’s a real threat. It's going to require collective action from all of us, not just one or two of us, but from all of us to meet the threat. I'm confident we can."
Grants are in the works to help reduce costs for residents.
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Those who do not comply could face fines.
The city council is set to discuss the proposal on April 15. If passed, the new rules would go into effect next January.
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