|
Joint
effort will help prevent fires in the hills
|
|
|
The 1991
Oakland Hills Firestorm burned areas of vegetation similar to
that found on university properties in the hills east of campus.
One of the most important lessons learned from the firestorm
was that urban areas are highly vulnerable to the spread of
spot fires originating in unmanaged neighboring wild land vegetation.
From early
September to mid-October 2000, UC Berkeley, in consultation
with EBMUD, East Bay Regional Parks District and the cities
of Berkeley and Oakland, will work to lower the threat of significant
property damage from wildfires by reducing neighboring density
of woody materials. The project focuses on the Panoramic Hill
area, at the interface between residents and university-managed
wild lands.
The project
covers a 30-acre area, comprised of mostly non-native conifers
planted by the university in the 1920's and 30's for teaching
and research. It has been identified as a high-risk priority
area; the condition of the brush and trees in this area requires
a higher level of treatment than that provided by the current
annual low brush and grass clearing efforts by hand crews and
goats. The project area contains approximately 2,400 trees.
Approximately 840 are slated for removal, most of them non-native
trees that are weak, diseased and dying.
This project
will be completed in phases. Phase I, scheduled for this fall,
will focus work on a 10-acre area close to the end of the Lower
Jordan Fire Trail. As part of this project, disturbed soils
will be seeded with indigenous grasses and wildflowers. Additionally,
chipped material will be spread to help prevent erosion. The
contractor will donate wood removed to a non-profit organization
for use as lumber and in artistic projects. The shaded fuel
break will help provide defensible space for fire crews working
along the ridge between Strawberry and Claremont Canyons. Most
importantly, it will reduce the threat of burning embers being
cast into the Oakland/Berkeley neighborhoods. Tree pruning will
reduce the threat of any fire spreading by way of treetops.
Crews will
cut trees into lengths of 24 feet or less. Small material will
be chipped. Unhealthy pines will be disposed of locally so as
not to spread pitch canker to the Sierra Nevada.
This fire
abatement project is funded in part by a matching funds grant
for Hazard Mitigation awarded to the University of California
by the State of California Office of Emergency Services and
the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Phases II and III are
scheduled for spring 2001.
Work on Phase
I is scheduled to begin in the first week of September and to
be complete by mid-October. Crews are scheduled to work in the
hill area from Monday to Friday, starting no earlier than 8
a.m. and ending by 5 p.m. Hauling will occur between 9 a.m.
and 4 p.m. to avoid peak traffic hours.
For project
information, phone 643-5028.
Renewing
the Foundations of Excellence home
Source:
Berkeleyan
Special Issue, Fall 2000
|
