RED FLAG WATCH from 11 pm Sunday through 5 pm Tuesday. Gusty offshore winds & drying conditions. Walk around your house to ensure it still complies with defensible space standards. Pack your go bag. Go to www.oaklandcpandr.org for more tips.
Oakland Firesafe Council

News and Notes

CPUC Inviting Comments on Undergrounding by March 10

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is inviting informal comments from the public by March 10, 2023 for the implementation of the Electric Undergrounding Expedition Program pursuant to California SB 884: Please email comments to SB884@cpuc.ca.gov by March 10, 2023. You may recall, […]

Oakland Fire Department 2022 Annual Report

See OFD’s report HERE

Why Your Support Matters, by Ken Benson, President of Oakland Firesafe Council

Dear Neighbors, The Oakland Firesafe Council (OFSC) was formed in 2014 to advocate on behalf of and to motivate the residents who live in the high fire risk zones of Oakland/East Bay to take steps to prepare for and reduce […]

Oakland’s SECOND Firewise USA® Recognized Site Is CABS

C.A.B.S. is a Montclair Organized Neighborhood defined by four streets: Colton, Asilomar, Balboa and Snake and has approximately 87 homes.  We organized ourselves over 15 years ago to serve as a first line of defense in the event of an […]

Oaklandside’s Updated “Oakland Wildfire Guide”

Oakland Firesafe Council, along with its Oakland Community Preparedness and Response program, is pleased to be included as a resource in this very thorough “Oakland Wildfire Guide” by The Oaklandside.

On Becoming Oakland’s FIRST Firewise USA® Site

We became aware of Firewise USA® through our fire prevention work as volunteers with the Friends of Joaquin Miller Park, and discussions with our committed fire professionals in the area like Sue Piper, Captain Chase Beckman and Doug Mosher helped […]

2022 Ushers in New Era for OFSC

When Ken Benson and the late Dinah Benson and I created the Oakland Firesafe Council (OFSC) in 2014, our goal was to provide local residents with timely, accurate and practical tips and tools to help make them more firesafe. In seven years, […]

Remembering the 1991 Oakland-Berkeley Firestorm

Brian Krans, reporter for Oaklandside/Berkeleyside, has produced a 30-minute podcast that accurately and succinctly reveals how the 1991 Oakland-Berkeley Firestorm forever changed how the East Bay — and the state of California– looks a wildfires. JuanCarlos Guerrero and Brandon Behle […]

OFSC’s Recommendations to CalTrans’ D4 Vegetation Management Plan

At its July meeting, the Oakland Firesafe Council approved moving forward with a review of Caltrans D4 Vegetation Management Plan, released in June, 2021.  Our comments were released to Caltrans on August 30,2021: We thank CalTrans for giving the Oakland […]

OFSC opposes SB9 and SB10 unless amended to account for wildfire safety

The Oakland Firesafe Council has sent letters to Senator Nancy Skinner, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and the authors and coauthors of two state senate bills that call for additional housing in heretofore single family housing zones. SB9 allows for accessory dwelling […]

East Bay Wildfire JPA launches new website

Check out the new website for our community awareness efforts to form an East Bay Regional Wildfire Prevention Vegetation Management District for the very high fire hazard severity and high fire hazard severity zones in the East Bay Hills. We […]

Oakland/Alameda County Launch Zonehaven for Evacuation Guidance

Oakland, CA — Today, representatives from the Oakland Fire Department and Oakland Police Department, along with a countywide taskforce made up of fire, police and emergency management agencies, jointly announced the launch of the “Know your Zone” campaign to help residents and businesses be […]