Forest fire is the most common hazards in the East Bay Hills. The Mediterranean climate, the ignitable vegetation species, the rugged topography, a shifting urban-wildland interface, and the practice of fire suppression in recent history have all collaborated to create the increased potential for catastrophic fires.
On October 20, 1991, a wildfire generated from the Canyon and spread in the East Bay. This firestorm destroyed approximately 1,580 acres and destroyed over 2,700 structures near the Caldecott Tunnel within the cities of Oakland and Berkeley, California. The fire took 25 lives and damage to infrastructure and dwellings exceeded$ 1.68 billion. This event became the most expensive fire disaster in California history.
The Claremont Canyon, with some of the largest undeveloped areas in the East Bay Hills, has the potential to be a model urban-wildland interface. The major landowners of Claremont Canyon are the University of California, the East Bay Regional Park District, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the City of Oakland and other public agencies (Fig 1).
The issue of reducing potential fire hazard in Claremont Canyon has been catching much attention by the local resident and fire department in recently years because this area remains undeveloped since the 1991 year’s firestorm (Ewell 1995).
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