Learn your evacuation zone to act quickly on evacuation warnings, orders

Zonehaven zone numbers will appear on evacuation orders sent via the AC Alert system, on which you should register your household's mobile and landline numbers, as well as emails.

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Use community.zonehaven.com to learn your household's evacuation zone - a label that responders will use during wildfires and other emergencies to rapidly identify specific areas under threat.

Zone numbers will be included in evacuation warnings and orders sent via AC Alert, the countywide emergency messaging system. Should your zone be affected, you'd see your zone number in the text of the message. In Berkeley, all the zone labels start with "BER-"-such as BER-E044, or "Berkeley Zone 44."

Signing up for AC Alert and knowing your evacuation zone allows you to quickly act during an oncoming fire. Every second matters in crisis. Bookmark the Zonehaven website and post your evacuation zone number on your fridge so everyone in your household can memorize it.

Know your zone to protect yourself and others in an evacuation

Zonehaven gives first responders a coordinated way to manage, plan, and implement evacuations by providing access to real-time weather, traffic, and fire information. When you know your zone, you make evacuations more effective.

Zonehaven has been adopted throughout the state and successfully used during several recent major wildfires to significantly improve communication during emergencies-but Berkeley recognizes that web-based tools may not be inherently simple for everyone to use.

If you have a friend or relative who would benefit from knowing their zone, take the time to show them their evacuation zone. Connecting with friends and relatives who may not have easy access to digital information can save lives during emergencies.

Know your zone to prepare for wildfire season

Knowing your zone is a critical part of preparing for wildfires, which are now more frequent and severe.

The Berkeley Fire Department recommends that residents of hillside fire zones make plans to leave during periods of "Extreme Fire Weather"-severely hot, dry, and windy conditions that allow fires to easily ignite and spread.

We've created a step-by-step guide to help your household:

• Identify your trigger for leaving the hills during fire weather
• Decide where you will go
• Identify evacuation routes

We're also hosting guided discussion groups to help refine your fire weather plan.

• Tuesday, August 23, 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m., Register online
• Thursday, August 25, 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m., Register online
• Wednesday, August 31, 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m., Register online

Lower your risk and increase your control this fire season: Look up your zone - and then post it on your fridge to memorize it. Sign up for AC Alert. Make a fire weather plan.

Resources

• Fire weather and evacuation
• Know your Zonehaven evacuation zone to identify your neighborhood in emergency alerts
• Sign up your household's cell phone, landline, and email for AC Alert.
• Use our one-page Wildfire evacuation checklist: PDF | MS Word to track key tasks for evacuation
• Use our Fire weather planning tool to plan when you'll leave, where you'll stay, and define your evacuation routes on foot and by car.
• Vegetation management: remove debris, trim plants, and prune trees to help protect your home from a spreading fire