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On the 30th anniversary of the disastrous 1991 Oakland-Berkeley Hills fire — which killed 25 people and destroyed 3,500 homes — Path Wanderers volunteers are leading a series of walks to familiarize neighbors with walking options for escaping the hills in case of a fire or other emergencies. We will meet at various points and walk downhill using local paths, staircases, and streets.
All walks start at 10am. The walk downhill is about 30 to 45 min. You can walk back up with the group or make arrangements to return later on your own. The routes are shown on this google map. The walks are open for all. You don’t have to be a neighbor in these areas to join in. You don’t need to RSVP - just show up!
Walk 1. Start at top of John Muir Path on Creston Rd and walk down to Solano Ave and The Alameda.
Walk 2. Start on Latham Lane just below Grizzly Peak Blvd and walk down to Solano Ave and The Alameda.
Walk 3. Start on Grizzly Peak Blvd across from Muir Way and walk down to Live Oak Park.
Walk 4. Start on Arcade Ave just below Grizzly Peak Blvd and walk down to Live Oak Park.
Walk 5. Start on Panoramic Way across from the Lower Fire Trail and walk down to the UC Campus. If you’re joining this walk from outside the area, please do not drive to the meeting point. The roads are extremely narrow and there is no parking at the meeting point.
Walk 6. Start at the Alvarado St entrance to Garber Park and walk down to Ashby Ave & Pine Ave. Note: the walk planned for this area is a bit more circuitous and not necessarily the most direct downhill route. Still, as with the other walks, the main goal is to familiarize residents with walking paths in the area.
If you live in a neighborhood not listed above, please reach out to us - we’d be happy to plan a similar exercise and raise awareness of paths with the neighbors in your area. We’ll arrange it for a date that works for your group and for our volunteers.
Finally, a word about ‘evacuation routes’. The routes we plan to walk together as part of this exercise may not necessarily be THE way to safely evacuate in a real emergency. The exercise is meant to familiarize residents with one possible walking option in their area - of which there are many! Your way down may look different from a neighbor’s - depending on the location of your home, the direction and intensity of the fire, etc. When disaster hits, alerts through official channels will provide information on where to safely evacuate based on the conditions unfolding at the time. To be prepared, the Berkeley Office of Emergency Services advises everyone to plan and PRACTICE two driving routes and two walking routes for getting out of their neighborhood in case of an emergency. So get your path map, join us on one of the walks, educate yourself about paths in your area, and then plan and practice with your family.