Oakland LHMP Hazard Detail

Wildfire

Wildfire is a major Oakland threat, especially in the hills and nearby buffer areas. Fire, smoke, ember spread, and evacuation problems can all threaten lives, homes, and infrastructure.

High risk 9/10 priority wildfire
Personalization

Adjust this page for your situation

Current Oakland location: No location selected

Current location
No location selected

Hazard pages use your saved address and ZIP first. This override only helps fine-tune guidance for neighborhood context like hills or shoreline.

Why Oakland Flags This

Why this is a real threat in Oakland

The 1991 Tunnel Fire remains one of the clearest examples of what can happen in Oakland. The LHMP also identifies large exposure in East Oakland Hills, North Oakland Hills, and Glenview/Redwood Heights.

Location Context

What this page is using

This hazard page is using your saved Oakland location: No location selected.

This page is still grounded in the JSON dataset, but this hazard does not yet have ZIP-specific scoring in the current risk CSV.

What This Means

Why it matters for your situation

If you live in or near the hills, the risk is direct. If you live elsewhere, smoke, evacuations, traffic, and utility disruption can still affect you. Older homes may also be more vulnerable to ember-related ignition.

Realistic Impact

What could happen

A red-flag day fire could spread quickly in the hills, force evacuations, stress road access, send smoke across the city, and damage homes, power, and communications.

Wildfire in Oakland is not only a hillside fire problem. Smoke, ember exposure, evacuations, and route closures can affect people far beyond the burn area.

Action Steps

Interactive checklist

Wildfire Preparedness: 0/5 complete

High risk
App Flow

Where to go next

This page is the deep-dive layer of the app. Once you understand this hazard, use the map to see spatial context or return to the dashboard to compare it with the rest of Oakland’s hazard priorities.

Open Unified Map Back to Ranked Hazards
Top Risks

Main dangers

  • Fast-moving fire in the hills that can destroy homes and threaten lives.
  • Smoke exposure that harms respiratory and cardiovascular health across a wider area.
  • Evacuation route problems during red flag or active fire conditions.
  • Damage to utilities, water-related systems, and transportation routes.
  • Ember-driven spread that threatens structures beyond the main flame front.
Priority Reason

Why this is ranked here

Wildfire is one of the LHMP's highest-ranked hazards because of its history, concentrated exposure in the hills, and severe smoke and evacuation impacts. It scores just below earthquake because events are less frequent, but when they happen the consequences can be catastrophic.

Locations

Areas mentioned in the dataset

  • East Oakland Hills.
  • North Oakland Hills.
  • Glenview/Redwood Heights.
  • North Oakland/Adams Point.
  • Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and the 3-mile wildfire buffer area.
At-Risk Groups

Who may need extra planning

  • People living in East Oakland Hills, North Oakland Hills, Glenview/Redwood Heights, and nearby exposed areas.
  • Low-income households, renters, and unhoused residents who may have less capacity to prepare or relocate.
  • Children, pregnant people, older adults, and people with respiratory or cardiovascular vulnerability because of smoke.
  • Emergency responders and people in Equity Priority Communities within the 3-mile wildfire buffer.
History

Historical examples

  • 1991 Tunnel Fire / Oakland Hills Fire: 1,520 acres burned, more than 3,200 structures destroyed, and 25 confirmed deaths.
  • October 22, 2024 Keller Fire near Edwards Avenue and Mountain Boulevard: 15 acres burned.