Planning for Disaster, Step by Step

The threat of rain reduced the numbers at our Piedmont Recreation Department’s Walking on Wednesdays walk last Wednesday. But we walk every Wednesday, rain or shine, and there was a special reason for the good turnout of 29 water-resistant walkers and two K-9 best friends to be at the Exedra as usual. Piedmont Fire Chief Dave Brannigan was there and going to tell us about Piedmont’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan during a walking tour.

Before we started walking, Chief Brannigan explained that this plan is the City's effort to create a five-year roadmap to make Piedmont more resilient to natural disasters. It is an update to Piedmont’s 2019 plan and studies the natural hazard risks, like wildfires, earthquakes, and extreme weather, pose to Piedmont. It also defines steps that can be taken to be safer.

The City has identified and studied the hazards, and the next step is to develop a "mitigation strategy" in which the projects, policies, and programs the City could take over the next five years are documented. Actions could include strengthening building codes, starting infrastructure projects like retrofitting or rebuilding critical facilities, and developing programs to help residents make their properties more resilient.

Of the 11 unique dangers being addressed in the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, wildfire is the greatest in the minds of many Piedmonters. The devastating Los Angeles fires this winter make many wondered if it could happen in Piedmont. Chief Brannigan said, yes, it could. The reason the Oakland firestorm of 1991 didn’t burn into Piedmont was that the winds changed directions.

Piedmont Communications Program Manager Echa Schneider was also with us and had created cards that listed the “7 Steps to Make Your Home Safer from Wildfires.” They are having a Class A fire-rated roof, a 5-foot ember-resistant zone, 6 noncombustible inches at the bottom of walls, fire-resistant vents, double pane windows or shutters, enclosed eaves, and clearing vegetation and debris under decks.

What more can the City and residents do to reduce the risk? Chief Brannigan and the City are looking for our thoughts. During the tour we would look for mitigation opportunities and what could be done to make us safer.

Chief Brannigan led us down Magnolia Avenue past the back of the fire station and noted it is too small for a larger fire truck and work could be done to make it and city hall safer in an earthquake. We went up Vista Avenue past the historic Wetmore House that was built in 1878. It is beautiful, but having five feet of non-combustible, clear space around its perimeter would be a best safety practice. This is true for most Piedmont homes. Chief Brannigan asked what kind of changes and sacrifices Piedmonters want to make to reduce fire risks. Do we want to change our homes and their landscaping? What should we do on Red Flag Days? What else? Some good news is that Cal Fire has updated their 2007 High Fire Zone Map and the area below Highway 13 and Piedmont are no longer in it. However, embers can blow three to four miles from a blaze, so there is still real wildfire danger to Piedmont.

We went past city hall. It was noted that the vines climbing on it could be a fire issue. We crossed Highland Avenue and went down Highland Way past Piedmont Community Church. Its stucco structure is good and so is most of the vegetation, but some is too close to the building. Ivy, junipers, and wooden benches are issues too. We continued up Mountain Avenue and found other things around homes to consider.

We went down a path and stopped in the Piedmont Court cul-de-sac. Chief Brannigan asked us to participate in a firefighter strategy exercise by imagining we were part of a fire team assigned to protect this neighborhood during a wildfire. Which homes would have the best chance of surviving? Which ones would we try to save? What actions would we take? It was thought provoking and an excellent way to complete the tour.

We expressed thanks to Chief Brannigan and Echa Schneider for the tour. No rain was experienced. Neither was fire, but we understood it is not a hypothetical issue in Piedmont.