"In this neighborhood, I think they are taking it seriously and that they are doing everything they can to make this place as safe as they can," says Oakland resident, Kaz Maniwa.
His neighborhood burned in the 1991 Oakland Hills firestorm, an experience that has many aware of the constant wildfire threat.
He believes the city is doing also a lot, like the annual home inspection by the Oakland Fire Department. But other says much more needs to be done.
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"I think people who live in the Oakland Hills would like to see, because streets are narrow, would like to see the vegetation removed from the roadside so there is more clearance, so you can evacuate," says Joelle Fraser, the Firewise lead for the Oakland Firesafe Council. Firewise is a national organization that helps neighborhoods plan and prepare for wildfires.
Fraser says they hold mock evacuations, educate residents about evacuations zones and even advise on how to park.
"It's parking off the streets so emergency vehicle can get by. Because streets are so narrow, emergency vehicles need 20 feet of clearance on either side to get by," says Fraser.
In fact, newly elected Oakland City Councilmember Zac Unger suggests that residents better utilize their driveways and garages instead of parking on the streets street. Unger was a firefighter for 27 years before retiring to join city council.
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He also says that it's important for residents to know their evacuation routes.
"Because when it is smokey, when it is dark, when you are panicking, you need to know where the routes are," he said. "And not just the regular routes, but where the secondary routes are as well. Because conditions are not going to be ideal and there are going to be fire engines coming up the hill as residents are going down."
Keeping the roadways clear in the Oakland Hills is even more critical given the limited number of roads in and out of the area, says Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran.
"In all of the Montclair neighborhood, for example, three roads to get you in and out of this portion of the hills," says Ramachandran.
Ramachandran says four of Oakland's seven districts are in high wildfire regions.
She adds that Oakland has one of the Bay Area's most comprehensive vegetation management plans to deal with thousands of acres of forested areas in the city. The problem is funding to get the work done.
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The recent passage of Measure MM in November provides funding for the next 20 years to tackle these issues.
"We are very, very aware that are so many parts of city property that road are not clear, that dead and dying trees are not being cleared currently," says Councilmember Ramachandran. "And a huge part of the goal of this ballot measure was to get the resources to be able to do that. But as of now, absolutely we are not where we should be when it come to be proactive."
Ramachandran says the regional cooperation happening between Bay Area counties is another component for effective wildfire prevention.