==Many of you may have heard sirens throughout the day on Friday. There were a series of small grass fires on La Vereda Road that were quickly extinguished by the Berkeley Fire Department and the neighbors. Then at 7:30pm smoke was noticed in a garage in the same area. A quick response by Berkeley Fire controlled the structure fire. Arson was suspected in all the incidents.

==My gratitude to both Berkeley Fire and Police and to the La Vereda neighbors for their quick and effective responses. Let this be a lesson to all of us to be vigilant, to report suspicious behavior, and to limit vegetation around our homes.

==The Berkeley Police Department released the following statement:

==On June 11^th, emergency personnel responded to four separate fires in the area of Cedar Street and La Vereda Road. Beginning at 10:22 am, emergency personnel responded to a small grass fire on the 1600 block of La Vereda Road, which neighbors were able to extinguish. At 2 pm, another fire was reported in the grassy area along Cedar Path (pathway between La Loma Avenue and La Vereda Road). While handling the Cedar Path fire, emergency personnel learned of a second fire of dried leaves on the 1600 block of La Vereda Road. At 7:28 pm, emergency personnel responded to a structure fire on the 2700 block of Cedar Street.

==After additional investigation into the fires, emergency personnel were able to identify the suspect as a 12-year-old girl who was later arrested.

==During the warmer months, we must all remain alert of the dangers of fire during this period of increased fire risk. Thanks to the quick action and reporting of neighbors, fires were able to be extinguished and a suspect later apprehended.

==We are thankful that no one was seriously injured by the fires.

==To learn more about fire prevention or where to go in case of evacuation, visit the Fire Department’s website.

==Help the City of Berkeley develop a new model of public safety that reflects the needs of our community by completing a brief online survey to inform a plan for restructuring the City's approach to violence prevention, crisis intervention, policing, and community safety.

==The City wants to know what health and safety issues you're most concerned about and what programs and services you see as key to community safety.

==Complete the survey online in English or Spanish by June 15. All responses are anonymous.

==The Berkeley Fire Department will give an update on the allocation of Measure FF’s funds to improve disaster preparedness.

==Back in November of 2020, Berkeley residents overwhelmingly passed Measure FF, a parcel tax to raise funds to improve Berkeley’s ability to prepare for and respond to large-scale emergencies. Join the webinar to hear BFD’s Assistant Fire Chief David Sprague as he provides the latest information on how Measure FF’s funds will be allocated.

==This is a free Zoom-only meeting, hosted by Berkeley Disaster Preparedness Neighborhood Network. Questions? email info@bdpnnetwork.org.

==Register to join here.

==Oaklandside, Berkeleyside's sister news site, ran this very interesting article about air pollution from wildfires and how you can repurpose your N-95 masks. Read it here.

==If you weren't able to watch the fire safety town hall on May 19th, we have a partial recording available here. Due to technical problems, we were not able to record the first 20 minutes, but the remainder of the presentation is full of useful information.

==We also have a recording of last year's fire safety town hall, that can be seen here.

==Receive emergency notifications through ACAlert.

==Sign up here.