How to defend your Berkeley home from wildfire
How do you protect your property? What does the law require? What help is available? What if you rent? What do you need to know about fire insurance?
Kate Darby Rauch
Freelancer Catherine "Kate" Rauch has been contributing to Berkeleyside for several years, and also happens to live in Berkeley, near downtown. Her work as a journalist has encompassed everything from 10 years as a daily news reporter for the East Bay Times, based in Richmond, to freelancing for a range of news sources including the Washington Post, Newsday, the Seattle Times, SF Chronicle and Oakland Magazine. Kate likes general assignment work and jumping into a variety of topics and stories, but has a background as a health writer, which includes writing for WebMD, Babycenter.com, Caring.com, UC San Francisco Medical Center, Kaiser and Sutter Health. Her awards include a first place in health and science writing from the Washington State Press Association, a first place in spot news from the Peninsula Press Club, and a second place in feature writing from the California Association of Newspaper Publishers. She's also worked as an anthropologist in rural Alaska. She has an MS degree from the Columbia School of Journalism and a BS from UC Berkeley in cultural geography.
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Articles by Kate
The big picture: Wildfire danger, risk and history in Berkeley
How dangerous are wildfires? What’s the history of wildfires? What activities are dangerous during fire season? What apps can help?
Popular Cal trail closes for wildland fire safety work, but bulk of the wildfire mitigation plan mired in lawsuits
During the six-month “Jordan Fire Trail Improvement” project, the trail will be closed, except on Sundays, according to the university.
Berkeley starts giving out COVID-19 ‘boosters,’ though most won’t be eligible for months
The city started giving third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine last week to people with compromised immune systems.
Coyote bounty earns reproach for Berkeley man whose cat got eaten
Coyote sightings are flooding social media, though pet killings are down this year in Berkeley. Many wildlife experts agree: Coyotes will adapt, and we’ll have to learn to live with them.
How wildfires affect air quality in the Bay Area and what to do to protect yourself
How do wildfires affect air pollution? How bad is smoke for my health? How do I track air quality and protect myself from smoke?
Berkeley residents now urged to leave the hills when there’s ‘Extreme Fire Weather’
The Berkeley Fire Department will declare “Extreme Fire Weather” due to forecasted high winds and low humidity on the highest-risk Red Flag days.
Sirens that speak are coming to your Berkeley neighborhood
A dozen or more sirens are expected to be installed. They’ll be capable of broadcasting spoken evacuation messages targeted at individual neighborhoods.
Know your zone: A new system for wildfire evacuation is coming to Berkeley
A new evacuation software system called Zonehaven is scheduled to go live on June 15.
Teens built secret mountain bike course. Now they’re rallying to save ‘The Jumps.’
The city said the unauthorized course would be removed, but demolition has been postponed at Councilmember Susan Wengraf’s request.
Families can hug again at Berkeley care facilities
As California virus rates improve, lockdown restrictions are easing in group living settings.
Should there be bike lanes on Hopkins Street? What will that do to parking?
The city of Berkeley is soliciting ideas on how to make Hopkins Street available to all, but the process has not been smooth.
Volunteers no longer welcome at Berkeley’s main COVID-19 vaccination site
Curative, the private company running the site, is concerned about the liability of using volunteers at the Golden Gate Fields site.
Succulents — yes, the plants — are dividing a Berkeley senior home
Charles Herring has raised hundreds of succulents over the years, but some residents believe they are attracting mice and want them gone.
City Council won’t preserve 132-year-old North Berkeley house, paving the way for townhouses
The developer will build 10 townhouses at 1915 Berryman St. after it was determined it didn’t warrant landmark status.
Berkeley residents are a generous bunch: The city ranked 7th in GoFundMe’s list of most-giving cities
Three campaigns raised the most money in 2020: for Moe’s Books, Rialto Theaters and a West Berkeley metal shop making plastic face shields for health workers.
