City Of Berkeley: Citywide Virtual Drill: Leaving For Extreme Fire Weather, Evacuating For Firestorm

Press release from City of Berkeley:

September 24, 2021

Berkeley, California (Friday, September 24, 2021) - Learn how to build your household's plan for extreme fire weather as well as firestorms and then use the plan in a virtual fire weather and evacuation drill with residents, students, and others across the City on October 8 and 9.

The virtual drill will start on October 8 with an AC Alert, drill-specific email warning for "Extreme Fire Weather," a Berkeley Fire Department label for very high winds and low humidity - conditions that have fueled California's most destructive wildfires and indicate to hillside residents that they should stay elsewhere.

During the next day's drill, we'll send three more rounds of AC Alert emails targeted to addresses affected by the scenario fire. You'll get different messages based on your address and the scenario's impact there. The emails will simulate phases of a fast-moving, destructive fire - a more frequent reality across California.

During the drill, which you can do entirely at home, you'll practice using your Household Fire Weather Plan by:

• Reviewing real-time AC Alert emails
• Deciding whether to leave early (before a fire starts) during Extreme Fire Weather
• Using Zonehaven to practice assessing which zones are under evacuation warning or order
• Practice assessing how one scenario affects your two car evacuation routes and two walking routes
• Identifying how your neighborhood is affected
• Checking your go bag
• Packing your car
• Contacting the place you'd stay during Extreme Fire Weather
• Using social media to signal your status to loved ones
• Taking other simple steps that you want to think through before a real emergency

• 2021 Fire Season Community Drill: Quick Reference Guide
• 2021 Fire Season Community Drill Participant Handbook
• Wildfire Readiness Web Page for Berkeley residents (City of Berkeley)
• Fire weather planning tool: a step-by-step guide to create your household fire weather plan
• Berkeley Fire Department recommends hills residents plan to stay elsewhere during "Extreme Fire Weather" (8/3/2021)
• Learn your evacuation zone to act quickly on evacuation warnings, orders (8/12/2021)
• Wildfire evacuation checklist: PDF | MS Word (large print and screen reader friendly)
• Wildfire readiness video series
• Vegetation management checklist: learn essential steps to improve your home's chance of surviving a wildfire

This press release was produced by City of Berkeley. The views expressed here are the author’s own.