Ban on vegetation near some Berkeley Hills homes starts Jan. 1. Here's what to know

"The owners of this home in the Berkeley Hills redesigned their outdoor space to comply with strict defensible space guidelines that prohibit anything combustible within five feet of the structure. Credit: Ximena Natera for Berkeleyside Berkeley's Zone Zero wildfire safety requirements are scheduled to kick in Jan. 1. The strict new guidelines ban nearly anything flammable from within 5 feet of about 1,400 homes in the Berkeley Hills. The City Council approved final language for the new guidelines Tuesday."

"As happened in firestorms like the 1923 Berkeley Hills fire and the 1991 Tunnel Fire, embers can travel blocks and even miles; when they ignite flammable material next to buildings, and the buildings catch, the new burning structures spew embers blocks and miles further in a chain reaction that can quickly blow past firefighters' ability to slow it down."

"Officially, the state law mandating 5-foot ember-free zones took effect in 2021, but officials in Sacramento have yet to announce an implementation plan and are expected to miss a Dec. 31 deadline, according to the Los Angeles Times. A great deal of furor, in Berkeley and elsewhere, has focused on what to do about living trees, shrubs and vegetation in the 5-foot area. Berkeley's regulations do not ban trees and shrubs outright, but do impose rigorous standards for keeping them away from buildings."

Berkeley will implement Zone Zero wildfire safety requirements on Jan. 1, banning nearly all flammable materials within five feet of about 1,400 homes in the Berkeley Hills. The City Council approved final language modeled in part on Cal Fire fuel management recommendations to create defensible space and slow wildfire spread. Ember-driven ignition can leap blocks and miles, causing cascading structure-to-structure fire spread that overwhelms firefighting response. The state law requiring five-foot ember-free zones took effect in 2021 but lacks an implementation plan in Sacramento. Local controversy centers on living trees, shrubs and vegetation in the five-foot zone; regulations allow vegetation under strict standards.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org