Road Closed: Crews Clearing Fire Fuels In Hills

LAMORINDA, CA — Work to reduce potential fire fuels is closing Wildcat Canyon Road this week between San Pablo Dam Road near Orinda and Inspiration Point in Tilden Regional Park on the Contra Costa County side of the Berkeley hills.

Wildcat Canyon Road, a popular route for bicyclists, will be closed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily through Friday.

The closure is needed to complete work as part of the North Orinda Shaded Fuel Break Project, according to a notice from the county.

The project area "encompasses 1,515 acres along 14 miles of treated wildland fuels in the East Bay between the Eastern portions of Tilden Regional Park (San Pablo Ridge) and Pleasant Hill Road (City of Lafayette)," according to the county.

The project is meant to decrease the threat of a wildfire spreading from the north and east by removing underlying vegetation and dead or dying trees.

"This area receives seasonal Foehn winds (locally known as 'Diablo winds') that were the dominant influence on several major nearby wildfires, including the 1991 Tunnel Fire in the Berkeley Oakland Hills, which remains the third most damaging wildfire in California history," the county said.

"The tree canopy will remain largely intact to reduce the intrusion of invasive non-native plant species."

State and regional agencies are partnering with the Moraga-Orinda Fire District on the project.

— Bay City News

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