Fire Disaster Preparedness

Team up with your Berkeley neighbors to reduce your wildfire risk

Help build a safer Berkeley and possibly lower your home insurance rates by demonstrating your commitment to reducing wildfire risk.

Published:

August 11, 2023

Last Updated:

September 8, 2023

You and your neighbors can team up with the Berkeley Fire Department to identify ways to reduce fire risk in your area and better protect your neighborhood before fires start.

It only takes a minimum of eight individual single-family dwelling units to create a Firewise Community, a distinction that can help you qualify for lower insurance rates.

In organizing your neighborhood, you’ll join five neighborhoods in the North Berkeley hills that have already worked with Berkeley Fire and been recognized as a Firewise USA Sites®.

Take the first step. Contact Berkeley Fire’s Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Division:

(510) 981-5620
wildfire@berkeleyca.gov

What are Firewise Communities?

A minimum of eight individual single-family dwelling units can form a “Firewise community,” a group banding together to reduce their properties’ vulnerability to wildfire.

The BFD and Wildlife Urban Interface Interns celebrated the installation of the Firewise USA® sign with the Park Hill Neighborhood.

Multiple homes can be located within large apartments complexes, condos, townhomes, or Homeowners Associations. Houses do not have to adjoin and not all households within an area need to participate.

Park Hills is our newest and largest Firewise community adjacent to Tilden Park. Residents in the Acacia Avenue area just off Grizzly Peak Boulevard, became the City’s first community recognized by the National Fire Protection Agency.

Become Firewise; possibly reduce your home insurance costs

Currently, over 20 residential property insurance companies voluntarily offer discounts to homeowners who have taken action to reduce wildfire risk.

According to the California Department of Insurance, the number of insurance companies offering discounts has increased since 2019. Discounts and eligibility differ by company. Contact your insurance company directly to find out if your property qualifies.

Becoming a Firewise USA Site® community depends on the commitment of your neighborhood to successfully complete the Firewise process, which can range from a few months to several years.

Reduce your wildfire risk to help build a safer Berkeley

Protect your homes and neighborhood from wildfires by forming a neighborhood group and learning how to reduce wildfire risk through the National Firewise program. You can also join FireSafe Berkeley to learn more ways to protect your home.

Homeowners will learn ways to protect their homes before fires start, just like the Parks Hills and Acacia Firewise communities, by using wildfire risk reduction methods:

carefully landscape around residential structures by thinning trees and brush
choose fire-resistant plants and vegetation
select ignition-resistant building materials and positioning structures away from slopes
organize and implement a Firewise plan in your neighborhood

Get help with the Firewise process

The Berkeley Fire Department will help your neighborhood by:

creating and developing an action plan with your group from a provided template
assisting you with a Community Wildfire Risk Assessment
supporting you in organization and planning
Collaborating with you on mitigation projects

You and your neighbors will work together as a community to:

Create a Firewise Portal account and apply to the program
Conduct neighborhood educational outreach including activities and events focused on fire safety. These include City programs like Chipper and Vegetation Bin services, education days, and neighborhood roadway clean-up
Invest a minimum of one hour per home annually performing wildfire risk-reduction actions
Show a specific amount of money per resident was spent making your community Firewise

Engage and encourage your neighbors to actively build a safer place to live by starting the Firewise process. Contact the Berkeley Fire Department’s Wildland Urban Interface Division by email or call (510) 981-5620 to get started.