Reduce fire-risk

The HNA is a Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) site classified as a high fire risk zone with close proximity to homes and schools.

Top contributors to fire risk:

  • Invasive grasses

  • Dense, forest-like thickets of french broom

  • Dessicated coyote brush branches

  • Invasive fire prone trees

What have we done to reduce fire risk?

  • Thatched dead grasses

  • Trimmed dead branches from coyote brush

  • Removed thousands of french broom stalks one-by-one

→ Created ~100 piles of this flammable material

To reduce the fuel load, we already filled dozens of dumpsters but at the lower Madera area, the site is steep and difficult to access, and the volume of material is significant, hauling it away is not a viable option.

What happens next?

  • Partnered with El Cerrito Kensington Fire Department to strategize fuel removal - controlled burn method

    • Fire Chief Chase Beckman surveyed the site 2x to confirm that our piles were best-practice, and ready for a safe, controlled burn.

  • Scheduled a prescribed burn of these piles, targeting the week of April 11-19 2026 (cancelled - NEW DATE TBD)

  • 50% of the piles will be burned 

    • Fire fuel has been building up for decades. While this is the first controlled burn in years, the Fire Dept is confident that they can arrange a yearly burn moving forward until fuel load is reduced.

Estimated impact: piling reduced fire risk by 30%*, and then burning will reduce risk by 81% (Estimates from nonlinear fuel model)

While Indigenous stewards have used controlled burns for centuries to manage vegetation, we recognize that they can raise public safety concerns. That’s why we are advocating for practices that reduce smoke and improve efficiency, including producing biochar.

Future methods to explore

  • Flame-cap (ring-of-fire) kiln: an engineered, airflow-controlled system for producing biochar that burns cleanly and reduces emissions