Dear Friends & Neighbors,

== Every year for the past many years I have hosted a community town hall on Fire Safety at the Northbrae Church. Attendance has always exceeded capacity. This year, because we cannot congregate in large gatherings, I have decided to produce an on-line Zoom version. Now up to 500 people can attend!

== While wildfires are a natural part of California’s landscape, a pattern is emerging where the fire season in California is starting earlier and ending later. Climate change is considered a key driver of this trend. Warmer spring and summer temperatures, reduced snowpack, and earlier spring snowmelt create longer and more intense dry seasons that make forests more susceptible to severe wildfires. The length of fire season is estimated to have increased by 75 days across the Sierras, and seems to correspond with an increase in the extent of forest fires across the state. Governor Newsom has made wildfire a priority in his proposed budget. Watch his news conference here .

== The idea that we might be dealing with a wildfire on top of the pandemic is daunting. Please take the time to join us on Thursday evening to learn about strategies that are being implemented to keep us safe. I have put together a great panel that I think will be interesting and informative and give you a sense of what the City, East Bay Regional Parks, and PG&E are doing.

== Send us your questions by Tuesday at noon to firesafeberkeley@gmail.com
and I will try to make sure that answers to your questions are incorporated in the program.

Be safe,

Susan Wengraf
Berkeley City Council
Fire Safety Virtual Community Meeting
CONCERNED ABOUT FIRE SAFETY?
 
 
Join us for a comprehensive virtual meeting about fire prevention strategies in Berkeley
 
Thursday, May 28th at 7:00pm
 
Susan Wengraf, Berkeley City Council District 6
 
David Brannigan, Chief, City of Berkeley Fire
 
Scott Ferris, Director, City of Berkeley Parks
 
Aileen Thiele, Chief, East Bay Regional Parks District Fire
 
John Walsh, Public Safety Specialist, Wildfire Operations PG&E

Keith May, Assistant Chief/PIO, City of Berkeley Fire

  • If you are asked for "Screen name" enter your first name.
  • You can call in with this phone number to listen only:
  • Telephone: 669 900 9128
  • Webinar ID: 950 4214 9128
  • I encourage you to use a computer rather than a cell phone because of the many different visual media used in the presentations.
== This forum is an unprecedented opportunity to hear about new strategies from our city, East Bay Regional Parks, and PG&E about efforts to protect us from a wildfire in extremely dry and dangerous drought conditions, compounded by the pandemic and Stay at Home orders.
 
== Please submit your questions regarding fire safety via email to firesafeberkeley@gmail.com by Tuesday, May 26 th at 12 noon. We will try to incorporate answers to your questions in the presentations. For more information, call 981-7160 and leave a message.
  
Produced by Councilmember Susan Wengraf and Legislative Aide Laurie McWhorter, District 6
Susan Wengraf
Berkeley City Council District 6
(510) 981-7160