Berkeley Hills community pushing back on Zone 0, fire prevention plan

By Amanda Hari

The Berkeley City Council is mandating fireproofing homes in high-risk areas, and the legislation is starting to get some pushback in the hills.

It comes a year after the LA fires devastated neighborhoods. City leaders, like Councilmember Brent Blackaby, saw that and said they knew they needed to make a change to prevent the same thing from happening in their city. 

Now, they are implementing a new law requiring homeowners in fire risk areas to create a 5-foot barrier around their homes, known as Zone 0. 

“It’s a fire department proposal that I support because I think it’s good science and it’s what we need to do,” said Blackaby. 

Blackaby lives in the Berkeley Hills and represents those who do as well. While the council unanimously passed the Zone 0 Law last year, some of his constituentsaren’t happy.

“It disproportionately kind of falls in my district, and you know, look, I did kind of lead a lot of the effort to move the legislation forward because I felt a responsibility,” Blackaby explained. “What I told people during my campaign is public safety, the safety of my family, and the safety of every homeowner is a big responsibility. I feel that very personally.”

He wants to make his community more resilient. He said he knows removing some of the plants close to people’s homes will take an emotional and financial toll, but he has to do it, too.

“This juniper is technically 5 feet, but it’s very flammable,” Blackaby said as he pointed out the tree. “These things catch fire and basically become torches, so this one at the end of the day we’re probably going to have to remove.”

A group of about 500 Berkeley residents who call themselves “The Alliance for Practical Fire Safety” has been pushing back on the effort and on Blackaby. 

“Contrary to the assertions that the science around Zone 0 is clear, it is inconclusive, yet that has still been accepted as a factual finding,” it said on the group’s website. 

Blackaby said he has heard rumors that people in the group may have started a recall effort. 

Berkeley Assistant Fire Chief Colin Arnold says they worked with the council on this legislation.

“In a wildfire, you have embers that are blown in front of a fire, and there are really two ways to ignite a home in a wildfire. It’s either a direct flame from the vegetation around the home or it’s from embers, and those embers can be blown well in front of a fire front,” said Arnold. “Sometimes [those embers] travel a half mile or more. We believe embers are responsible for 80% of ignitions.”

The fire risk also impacts people’s ability to get insurance. The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety says Zone 0 makes a difference.  

“The latest wildfire research from IBHS and other experts shows the critical importance of preventing initial ember ignitions in reducing wildfire risk,” said Senior Director for Wildfire at IHBS, Steve Hawks. “It takes a system of mitigation actions, including adequate space between structures, removing connective fuels and the use of fire-resistant building materials.  This can break the pathways that allow fire to spread from one structure to the next. In densely built neighborhoods where homes are close together, a noncombustible zone free of materials that can ignite becomes even more important to give fire-resistant building materials the opportunity to work. “

“Post-fire investigations, including IBHS’s post-event study of the 2025 Los Angeles Conflagrations, show the first five feet around a structure — Zone 0 —pose a significant ignition risk when combustible materials are present,” Hawks continued. “Flames, radiant heat and embers can overwhelm even fire-resistant construction when vegetation, fencing, mulch or other fuels are located near a building. IBHS data shows that when fuel coverage in Zone 0 exceeds 25%, the risk of damage or destruction rises to nearly 90%. Removing combustible materials from Zone 0 is one of the most practical steps to reduce risk and improve a structure’s likelihood of surviving extreme wildfire exposure.” 

Blackaby said he knows it’s going to take time for people to make the changes, but encourages them to take the first steps.

“So, I would just say start,” said Blackaby. “Start with what’s easy, and then work your way up to other things that may be more difficult. As long as we’re all doing that together and putting us on the path together, we’ll get to the end.”

Blackaby says embers of the Berkeley Fire Department have been knocking on people’s doors in the Berkeley Hills to help them come up with a three-year plan to make their homes Zone 0 compliant.