People Locator System Introduced
01-31-2007
The UC Berkeley People Locator is a web-based contact system to provide information to members of the UC Berkeley community and to their families and friends in the event of an emergency affecting the campus. The tool is found at: https://peoplelocator.berkeley.edu/.
The People Locator website is owned by UC Berkeley but is available to the general public. Any information entered into this site about the status of a UC Berkeley community member after a disaster is available to the general public so that they may determine the welfare and location of the community member. Additional information about the People Locator is found in the Emergency Contacts section of this web site. Additional information about the origination of the People Locator project is available in a Berkeleyan article on March 28, 2007
ST&AR Program Launched August 28, 2006
The Safety, Transportation & Access Report is now available for download at the UCPD website. Install the small program and click on a 7-pointed star in the PC Start toolbar and alerts and bulletins about campus safety, parking & transportation, and emergency preparedness alerts will display in a small window on the desktop. Spearheaded by Public Safety & Transportation, the program uses technology employed by CNN, The Wall Street Journal, BBC and others. Read More
Shockwave Centennial Disaster Training Exercise Simulates 1906 San Andreas Fault Quake April 20, 2006
The Office of Emergency Preparedness and regional partner agencies hosted an earthquake exercise simulating the aftermath of an event similar to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The exercise took place on April 18, 2006, on the 100-year anniversary of the original disaster, and provided a setting for participants to practice a coordinated response to emergency management while increasing awareness of regional impacts of such an earthquake. Participants in this management level disaster exercise included: City of Berkeley, City of Albany, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Alta Bates - Summit Medical Center, Bayer Health Care Corporation and the University of California.
Further details on the Shockwave Centennial exercise care contained in the Shockwave Brochure (562Kb). Visit the "Seismo" web page for more information on the many campus events planned to commemorate the centennial. Photographs of the event, by UC Public Affairs photographer Steve McConnell, are now available for review.
Fire Mitigation Program Works to Develop Redwood Forest
March 6, 2006
In a volunteer project developed in partnership with the Claremont Canyon Conservancy, nearly 1,500 redwood seedlings were planted on UC land in the hill campus to promote the restoration of a native landscape. The sites, one in Claremont Canyon and the other atop Chaparral Hill, have been recently cleared of blue gum eucalyptus trees, which posed an enormous wildfire threat. Over the past 4 years, over 12,000 eucalyptus have been removed from UC Berkeley property. Claremont Canyon Conservancy Board Director Joe Engbeck has made the restoration of these lands toward a coastal redwood forest a reality by organizing the re-forestation effort. In 2005, Engbeck engaged the Cal Forestry Club to plant over 1200 trees; and in 2006, the Cal Forestry Club again participated and planted over 1400 small redwood seedlings.
San Francisco Chronicle writer Jim Herron Zamora covered the story, and has posted a news story, photographs and video footage on the SF Gate web site. For information on last year's planting and corresponding eucalyptus removal projects, please go to the Fire Mitigation Program page. Zamora also produced a podcast of the story.
OEP Awarded Two FEMA Grants
january 23, 2006
As a component of the Fire Mitigation Program, OEP prepared and submitted seven grant applications in 2005 to Federal funding sources for fuel management projects. Two applications, submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program, have been tentatively awarded, pending successful completion of environmental review. The first project, Strawberry Canyon, will involve the removal of 66 acres of eucalyptus trees near LHS, SSL and FSBR. The second project, Clarmont Canyon, will involve the removal of 45 acreas of eucalyptus trees on the South facing slope of Claremont Canyon. Together, over 23,000 trees will be removed in this effort, which is being coordinated with local Cities and institutional landholders through the Hill Emergency Forum.
Draft Environmental Assessment - Fire Project
January 11, 2008
Notice of Availability
Draft Environmental Assessment
Strawberry Canyon Fire Mitigation Project
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Regents of the University of California (UC) have applied for funds from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), through the State of California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, to implement a fire mitigation project at the University of California, Berkeley, in the City of Oakland, County of Alameda, California. FEMA proposes to fund a fire mitigation project for UC through the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program. The proposed grant has been designated PDMC-PJ-09-CA-2005-011. UC has identified a 58-acre parcel of its property in Strawberry Canyon that is at high risk to produce or conduct a devastating wildfire. UC believes that action is needed to reduce the risk of fire to the University of California, Berkeley, campus and nearby residents in the City of Berkeley.
UC proposes to selectively remove all exotic vegetation such as eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and acacia from the project area (Proposed Action). Trees would be cut by handheld chain saws or a tracked vehicle utilizing a chain saw. An herbicide would be applied to tree stumps. Most fallen trees would be hauled or skidded to designated landing areas where they would be chipped. Wood chips would be scattered on site. Larger trees would be cut into 20- to 30-foot-long sections and left on site. UC is considering two alternatives to the Proposed Action. The first alternative consists of the selective removal of 70 percent of exotic species. This alternative would involve less hauling/skidding and chipping of trees than the Proposed Action; larger trees would be targeted and cut into sections as described for the Proposed Action. The second alternative is to take no action.
FEMA has prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) for this project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and the Council on Environmental Quality and FEMA’s implementing regulations. The DEA, which evaluates the environmental impacts of the Proposed Action and both alternatives, is available for public review and comment. The DEA is available online at http://www.fema.gov/plan/ehp/envdocuments/ea-region9.shtm.
To request a copy of the DEA or to provide comments regarding the DEA, please direct correspondence to Environmental Officer, FEMA Region IX, 1111 Broadway, Suite 1200, Oakland, California 94607. For more information, please leave a message for FEMA’s Region IX Environmental Officer at (510) 627-7027.
Comments on the DEA must be received by January 26, 2008. Until that date, FEMA will take no further action regarding the proposed grant.
Outside links to Articles and Press Releases
