The National Weather Service warning is in effect from 11 p.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Thursday, driven by hot, dry and windy conditions paired with low humidity.
On Wednesday night, PG&E announced Public Safety Power Shutoffs will happen for parts of the Bay Area. The PSPS would be in effect for Wednesday and Thursday.
In Solano County and northern Sonoma County, shutoffs could start as early as 9 p.m.
For other parts of Sonoma and Napa counties, PSPS would occur at or after 11 p.m.
Fire officials say the combination creates critical fire weather, where even a small spark can quickly escalate.
In the Oakland Hills, the vulnerability is clear: dense neighborhoods sit immediately next to open land filled with dry brush, forming a wildland-urban interface that can fuel rapid fire spread.
For resident Abby Irwin, the warning brings familiar concerns, especially as fire risk intersects with insurance challenges.
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"Well, the fire department comes by every year, and they check everything they're due to come out shortly to make sure that everything -- like we have nothing on our roof that is flammable. We luckily have a metal roof, but we still, you know, we have lots of pine trees," Irwin said.
Irwin said neighbors are sharing strategies for fire prevention, posting visible lists of safety improvements on their homes.
"So, if you get a chance, you'll see on some of the homes, there's a list of all the measures that people have taken to try to prevent fires," she said. "They list everything that they've done for fire abatement and fire protection of their homes. So, this neighborhood is really great at doing that and trying to make sure all the neighbors are aware."
The city's wildfire prevention efforts are also underway. More than 5,000 goats are being deployed across Oakland to clear brush and reduce fuel, particularly in hard-to-reach areas. Crews have also completed annual grading and clearing of fire trails, using heavy equipment to improve access in remote terrain.
Battalion Chief James Bowron said those fire trails are critical during emergencies.
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"One of the things that the Oakland Fire Department does to prep for wildland season, that is we do we call this fire trail maintenance. So throughout the city, in some of our more tough-to-get locations, we have actually built fire trails. And as you can see here, the fresh dirt that's exposed right here. We've just had a piece of heavy equipment come through over the last couple days and basically clears a path," Bowron said.
That allows for fire crews to get their apparatus into more remote locations.
"If for some reason we had a vegetation fire somewhere in, in any of these remote locations, aircraft or somebody might be able to, you know, lay retardant down. And it just gives us a place to be able to work off of and start doing either progressive hoses or some mitigation factors to be able to get in here and put a fire up," he said.
Bowron said Red Flag days require heightened awareness, noting they are often linked to some of the city's most serious fires.
"It's just that time of year seasonally. We always get these Red Flag days, and it seems like they come earlier and earlier every year, but here we go," he said. "We don't get the fuel moisture. We don't get the fog that comes in at night. We get those nice warm nights. But what that does is the winds tend to be elevated, and it also keeps the humidity low, which for wildland fires and sustained burning, those are kind of the combinations that will continue fire burning through the night and then also allow fire to carry pretty rapidly as well."
Historically, Red Flag days have also been where some of the more significant incidents occur.
"So for me, any time we have the red flags, it's always a heightened sense of awareness and an emergency. One of the big things we always try to do is when we have red flags is really stress to the public to really heed all the warnings about the red flags," Bowron said.
Citywide vegetation management inspections begin Friday, with crews checking more than 25,000 properties annually to ensure homeowners are clearing flammable materials and maintaining defensible space. Officials emphasize that prevention is a shared responsibility.
"We're staying in front of it. And it's just it's about being a good, good resident and, you know, and a good citizen, a good neighbor, taking care of where we live and where we work and making sure that we're prepped. So, if and when something like that happens, we've got the best, possible outcomes and the best chance at being successful at keeping it small," Bowron said.
He also urged residents to avoid activities that could ignite a fire during the warning period.
"It may be the day to take off from doing, you know, yard work and hedge trimming and things like that that could, you know, potentially start a spark. But then of course, you know, the conditions are right if, you know, unfortunately, if we do have a start and we are in Red Flag conditions, those tend to be the ones that have the most potential to get larger in size," he said.
Fire officials say public awareness and preparation remain critical in minimizing wildfire risk in Oakland's uniquely exposed hillside communities.
South Bay
South Bay firefighters prep for fire danger amid 1st Red Flag Warning
Even with no active fires in Santa Clara County, fire agencies across the South Bay treated Wednesday like the real thing.
Crews gathered at Alum Rock Park for the annual XSC Wildland Drill, practicing how they would respond if a wildfire were to ignite amid a fast-starting fire season in the Bay Area. Departments across the region are on high alert as conditions point to a potentially dangerous summer.
We're expecting an El Nino summer, which leads to warmer and windier weather. San Jose Fire Captain Mitch Matlow said those conditions can quickly escalate into major incidents.
"If you look at every major fire that we've had in California in the last 30 years, they were wind-driven fires -- someplace along that line, that fire was wind-driven," Matlow said.
The drill focused on interagency coordination, something officials say is essential before a fire ever starts.
Dozens of crews worked through realistic scenarios designed to mirror the challenges of a wildfire response, including communication, water movement and structure defense.
"Incredibly important because no one fire agency can put out a major fire by themselves. Just like a baseball team needs to practice together, they can't just stand and throw the ball against the wall and call themselves a baseball team. In order for us to call ourselves a fire team, we need to practice together," Matlow said.
In addition to standard firefighting tactics, crews also trained for emergencies within emergencies -- situations where firefighters themselves are injured while battling flames.
"In both divisions, they're practicing what we call an incident within an incident. That's a line emergency where a firefighter gets injured and how do we handle that? There is actually a script for that, based on an incident where it wasn't handled well and a firefighter died," Matlow said.
Though no flames were burning during Wednesday's exercise, the drill simulated real-world pressure and complexity as closely as possible. Officials said the preparation is critical to protecting both firefighters and the public when fire season intensifies.
Fire crews also urged residents to play a role in prevention during heightened fire danger.
Just like these trainings are a team effort, preventing fires is as well. You're asked during this Red Flag Warning to reduce your ignition sources, prepare your go bag and go to the San Jose Fire website if you have any other questions.
Officials say the combination of preparation, coordination and public awareness will be key as the region heads deeper into fire season.