'Elevated to near-critical' fire threat for parts of East Bay

Heightened fire danger in the Bay Area

Blustery winds are fueling high-fire danger across the Bay Area. Crews are on high alert in on Friday and through the weekend, ready to respond at a moment's notice. Fire officials say the conditions will likely increase for a bit before they get better.

OAKLAND, Calif. - With the National Weather Service warning of an "elevated to near critical" fire weather threat through Saturday, residents in the East Bay are on high alert. 

Experts say the interior East Bay and eastern Santa Clara Hills are at particularly high risk for rapidly spreading grass fires. 

Planned power shutoffs are affecting a relatively small number of far East Bay customers where high winds could blow a branch or a tree into a power line, sparking a fire.

What they're saying:

"Fear, when you see all the grass, the dead grass," said Oakland hills resident Fred Booker.

Booker's home was destroyed in the 1991 firestorm. He says he and his neighbors are making sure they're prepared. 

"More and more people are cleaning up, especially on our street," said Booker.

Sparks from a carelessly thrown cigarette, a dragging trailer chain, or lawnmower can easily set off a wind-blown wildfire fanned by high winds. Even worse, fireworks pose a real threat everywhere.

"Fourth of July is right around the corner and time after time we see a lot of illegal activity and a number of fires and incidents that are 100% avoidable," said Santa Rosa Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal.

Oakland Fire preparing for elevated risk

It's not just people. In the Hills, herds of goats have been hard at work, too, clearing hundreds of acres of dry vegetation. 

"It makes a tremendous difference, especially when it comes to getting to some of these areas of the hills that we just couldn't send humans to," said Oakland Fire Department spokesperson Michael Hunt.

Oakland Fire says the rising temperatures coupled with the dry brush are concerning, but crews have been planning and are ready to go in case a fire breaks out. 

"At this point, all our firehouses are open. We have no reason to believe that that will change in the coming months," said Hunt. 

Alameda County beefing up resources

"We're looking at an event that'll go probably a couple days, maybe letting up around mid-Sunday," said Kent Carlin, battalion chief for Alameda County Fire. "The conditions will probably increase a little bit before they get better."

Alameda County Fire has brought in an extra brush crew to make sure they're prepared. 

"I think once we kind of hit thresholds in the fire season, the doors kind of open up for we need everybody that we can to respond to these incidents," said Eric Truax, a crew superintendent with Alameda County Fire. "The key with a lot of these wildfires is picking them up early and keeping them small."

PG&E power shutoffs continue

As the fire danger continues, so do the "public safety power shutoffs" by PG&E. The company has turned off power to hundreds of customers in Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara Counties, likely through Saturday. It's a strategy PG&E says has been proven to work over the years. 

Here in the Bay Area, just 68 customers in Alameda County are being notified of the potential of a second wave of PSPS," said Tamar Sarkissian, a spokeswoman for PG&E.

"We've found many instances of trees into power lines, downed wires, stuff like that that could have and would have caused a fire if these lines had been energized," said PG&E spokesperson Jeff Smith.