A message regarding this weekend's red flag warning

Dear campus community,

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the Bay Area from 11 p.m. tonight, October 17, through Saturday evening, October 19, for winds of 25-35 mph and gusts up to 50 miles per hour and the humidity drops to 10%. These weather conditions contribute significantly to the increased risk of forest fires. A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will occur shortly. This message contains information about how we will manage Homecoming weekend events.

We ask that you join us in helping to reduce risk and heed the City of Berkeley's warnings by taking the following precautions while on campus:

• No personal barbecues or open flames are permitted on campus (including parking lots) during Homecoming and during the Red Flag Warning. As a precautionary measure, we also advise against grilling outside of campus.
• Be especially careful when operating heat sources such as power tools, space heaters, and idling cars.
• UC Berkeley is a smoke-free campus. All smoking materials should be properly extinguished before being disposed of properly.

This situation is evolving and could change quickly. For the most up-to-date information, sign up for text alerts through UC Berkeley WarnMe and visit news.berkeley.edu.

Amy Chen
Campus firefighter

Jason Ferguson, MPH
Director of Emergency Management

Marc Fischer
Vice Chancellor, Administration