A Newsletter for the Neighbors of the University of California, Berkeley

Cal fights fire hazards by giving 'em the axe

By Janet Huseby

The same slope in Claremont Canyon before (left) and after eucalyptus clearing. Native plants are now thriving in the light-filled environment.

Claremont Canyon in the spring is lush with green grasses and yellow French broom blossoms. Eucalyptus trees tower above the cool mist.

The scene is seductively beautiful and, at times, dangerous. By late
fall, hot winds from Mt. Diablo arrive in the early morning - the grass is now matted and brown, the French broom withered, and dry poison hemlock and eucalyptus bark litter the underbrush. The east wind can reach 20, 30, or even 50 miles an hour as it rushes over the ridge tops toward the Golden Gate. And every 20 years or so, these Diablo winds have pushed huge fires down the canyon, burning brush, trees, and houses.

" It is inevitable," says Tim Wallace, president of the Claremont Canyon Conservancy, whose home is located at the west end of the canyon.

East Bay canyons were originally covered with grass and oak trees. In the mid-1850s ornamental exotics were introduced - among them the beautiful French broom and the oily Australian eucalyptus trees that grow as high as 120 feet. In 1972 a freeze hit the Bay Area and the eucalyptus trees seemed to die. Crews cut the dead wood, but they didn't tackle the dormant stumps. From these stumps, hydra-like, tall, skinny shoots sprung up. Many of these shoots, now denser than ever, escaped the 1991 fire, which cut a swath down Claremont Canyon as far as Alvarado Road just above the Claremont Hotel.

The foreign plants, says Wallace, "are candles waiting to be lit. A fire can move from the top of the ridge to the bottom in half an hour. The flame wall can be 30 to 50 feet high." To make matters worse, eucalyptus trees can host "crown fires" that leap down the canyon.

Fire-mitigation program
Tom Klatt, director of emergency planning for UC Berkeley, administers the campus fire-mitigation program for this area. His territory includes the central campus and wildlands stretching up Strawberry Canyon and over to the upper third of Claremont Canyon - 1,100 acres of flammable materials. Klatt tackles this responsibility with enthusiasm.

Under Klatt's direction, every year the campus sends out crews to clear light brush and grass around buildings and along the roadsides where most fires begin. The crews weed-whip the six-foot hemlock and haul out eucalyptus litter. During the summer, student patrols move through the canyons watching for flames and illegal campsites. Flocks of goats are brought in for weed-grazing.

" Those steps are annual, recurring work," says Klatt. "But we need to do more." Three years ago, the university launched a long-term fire abatement plan to eradicate the re-sprouted eucalyptus trees, focusing on the areas that posed the most serious fire danger.

Now entering the fourth year of an eight-phase project, UC has taken down 3,000 eucalyptus trees, applying Garlan IV, an herbicide, to the stumps in a 30-acre area near the intersection of Grizzly Peak and Fish Ranch Road at the top of Claremont Canyon. Initially, the harvest was hauled to the road and chipped. Last year's harvest, located further from the road, was cut into pieces, scattered, and allowed to decompose in place.

With the removal of eucalyptus, a significant population of struggling native oaks, bay laurels, and redwoods - many of which were planted by the Piedmont Rotary Club following the 1972 freeze - are beginning to thrive in the increased light. With each cutting, members of the Claremont Canyon Conservancy have helped clear the brush, spread woodchips, and planted additional fire-resistant redwood trees. Redwoods create humidity while their acidic needles help suppress the growth of flammable underbrush. Along the cut sections, recycled logs have been positioned to act as a barrier to motorized bikes and to stolen cars that are pushed down into the canyon - both of which are fire hazards. At the end of the last cutting season, Klatt and his father, Peter, fastened the logs with chains to keep them from being pushed downhill.

UC Berkeley is a member of the Hills Emergency Forum, which also includes the East Bay Municipal Utility District; East Bay Regional Parks; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, and El Cerrito; and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The forum's goal is to manage the hills collaboratively. However, cutting trees is expensive. The two-year-old Claremont Canyon Conservancy has 200 members, each of whom has pledged $1,000 for fire abatement efforts. The conservancy has also recently received a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. UC Berkeley has spent $125,000 over the last three years on the Claremont project and is committed to removing hazardous trees through the 2004 season.

" With the budget as it is, that's as far as we can plan," says Klatt, " but I am sure going to try to continue."

Says Wallace: "We know another fire will come one day. It's not if, but when. We just want to make it more fightable.

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