East Bay Wildfire Coalition

A collaborative effort by public agencies and residents throughout the East Bay to reduce the threat of wildfire

Photo credit: Julia Sumangil Photography

The East Bay Wildfire Coalition meets on a scheduled basis. Dates, times and locations will be posted here as soon as they are available. Please sign up for our mailing list below to be notified of meeting details when they are confirmed.

Who we are

On April 29, 2024, elected representatives from the Alameda and Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors; the city councils of Berkeley, El Cerrito, Oakland, Richmond; and the Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District gathered to conduct the first meeting of the East Bay Wildfire Coalition (EBWC) under the parameters set forth in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that the agencies had previously ratified. The cities of Hayward and Pinole, along with the Kensington Fire Protection District, have also approved the MOU and are expected to join the EBWC.

Elected representatives who make up the EBWC are:

  • Susan Wengraf, Berkeley City Council, Chair
  • Janani Ramachandran, Oakland City Council, Vice Chair
  • Elisa Márquez, Alameda County Board of Supervisors
  • John Gioia, Contra Costa Board of Supervisors
  • Paul Fadelli, El Cerrito City Council
  • Ray Bonilla, Hayward City Council*
  • Daniel Levine, Kensington Fire Protection District*
  • Maureen Toms, Pinole Mayor
  • Gayle McLaughlin, Richmond City Council
  •  Marie Bowman, Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District

*The Kensington Fire District and City of Hayward are expected to formally join the EBWC pending approval at an upcoming meeting.

Why did the EBWC come together?

Increasing threats from wildfire demand a new more effective, regional approach to wildfire prevention in the East Bay Hills, which are a high wildfire risk zone. Wildfires do not respect political boundaries, so fire prevention and vegetation management need to be regional efforts. Coordinating among the many jurisdictions, fire districts, and other regional agencies in the East Bay wildfire zone has been an impossible challenge without a clear framework for coordination, which has been formalized through the MOU that established the EBWC.

Wildfires have increased in frequency and extent throughout California in recent years. A changing climate at the global scale has established the climatic preconditions for major wildfire events and an extended fire season. These preconditions include longer periods of drought, more erratic precipitation patterns, more instances of extreme heat, and more frequent high wind events.

Although the primary causes are at the global level, we can only work toward wildfire prevention through local responses, which need to be coordinated and enhanced. Today in the East Bay, local governments such as counties, cities, towns and fire districts are responsible for preventing and fighting wildfires, and additional agencies such as the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD), UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) manage their significant wildland holdings in the East Bay hills. Any gap in efforts among these many agencies could threaten the entire region.

The Memorandum of Understanding, with its focus on wildfire prevention in the East Bay Hills, is an ideal mechanism to gather resources, align strategies, and implement new programs targeted at the areas at greatest risk.

Click image to go to view full-size PDF.

Due to the multiple jurisdictions involved, CAL FIRE does not produce a single map showing fire severity zones in all parts of the proposed JPA area. This is just one of the reasons an East Bay Wildfire JPA is needed.

CAL FIRE last updated its Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps through a process that lasted from 2007 to 2010. That work resulted in three datasets:

  • ADOPTED fire hazard risk designations were mapped for State Responsibility Areas (SRAs) in 2007.
  • RECOMMENDED very high fire hazard risk designations for Local Responsibility Areas (LRAs) were published in 2008-2009.
  • DRAFT fire hazard risk designations for high and moderate risk areas within LRAs were published in 2007, but were never finalized by CAL FIRE.

The map above is for illustrative purposes and represents a composite of these three datasets, for both Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Adopted and Recommended designations are shown in solid colors, while the Draft designations are shown in hatched colors.

CAL FIRE is currently updating its data again. If new maps showing revised Fire Hazard Severity Zones become available, they will be posted here.

The East Bay Wildfire Coalition could:

  1. Develop a plan to reduce the most flammable wildlands vegetation in the East Bay Hills and replace it with wildfire resistant vegetation where appropriate.
  2. Raise funds from state and federal grants to implement shared objectives.
  3. Create Vegetation Management, “Defensible Space” and “Home Hardening” programs to aid and advise property owners on best practices to reduce threat of wildfire.
  4. Protect sensitive wildlife habitats and native plant landscapes.

The participating jurisdictions will ultimately decide the group’s scope of work, strategic plan, and funding strategy.

Download the 2022 ‘Overview of Needs to be Addressed and Related Efforts’

How we got here

Work to develop what is now the East Bay Wildfire Coalition (EBWC) began in 2019 when a small group of East Bay community leaders concluded that wildfire prevention efforts could not be successful on a city-by-city or fire district basis alone. Wildfires go where there is fuel and the winds carry them. They don’t stop at municipal or county boundaries.

The leaders, principally from the Oakland Firesafe Council and the Claremont Canyon Conservancy, decided to work together, and solicited support from a wide number of area community organizations and public officials. A list of the ultimate endorsers is below. The supporters raised enough money to retain a consultant (PlaceWorks) and eventually a municipal law attorney (Shayna van Hoften of Hanson Bridgett), who drafted theMemorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU outlines the structure of what is now the EBWC. You can read the MOU here.

In the fall of 2023 and the spring of 2024, ten jurisdictions ratified the MOU.  On April 29th 2024, the EBWC convened for the first time. The EBWC now continues to meet on a regular basis; see the top of this website for meeting dates, times and locations.

Community support

The grassroots coalition of community organizations that worked to get the MOU adopted and establish the EBWC consisted of a steering committee whose members are listed below.

List of Endorsers

Read Letter of Endorsement from CSAA Insurance Group

East Bay Wildfire Coalition endorsements.

Last Updated: July, 2024

Thanks to our supporters

The Community Organizing Committee that worked to see the MOU adopted thanks the entities who have contributed financially to this effort. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Donner Family Fund, the State Coastal Conservancy grant with the Bay Area Council Economic Forum, California State Auto Association Insurance Division, and PG&E have all helped out.  We also received donations from many individuals and neighborhood groups in the East Bay Hills.

In 2023, Alameda and Contra Costa counties; the cities of Berkeley, Oakland, Pinole, and Richmond; and the Moraga-Orinda Fire District all made contributions enabling the MOU to be finalized.

Meeting Materials

The EBWC meets publicly on a scheduled basis. Below are the meeting agendas, minutes, and other materials from meetings held thus far.
 
Meeting 1: April 29, 2024

Meeting 2: July 8, 2024

Updates and Events

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Past events and presentations will be posted here.

Currently Participating Jurisdictions (later)

Background and References

View links to references, organizations, articles, and meeting materials by expanding the list below.

Background and References

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© 2021 East Bay Hills Wildfire Prevention and Vegetation Management Joint Powers Agency Formation Committee