For residents of the Oakland Hills, the prospect of another wildfire always remains a concern. This week’s winner of the Jefferson Awards has made it his mission to make the Hills and other high-risk areas safer.
Ken Benson recalls reporting on the 1991 Oakland Hills fire storm that killed 25 people and destroyed more than 3,200 homes.
“I had never seen such a fast movement,” Benson told CBS News Bay Area. “My thoughts obviously went out to the people who tried to flee.”
What Benson saw prompted him and his late wife Dinah to work on fire prevention, especially when they later bought a home in the Oakland Hills.
They co-founded the Oakland Firesafe Council in 2014, along with Sue and Gordon Piper, a couple who lost their home in the 1991 fire storm.
CBS
The nonprofit aims to reduce the danger of wildfires in high-risk areas of Oakland and Alameda County.
For example, neighbors are making their homes more fire-safe by managing vegetation that could fan the flames. And they prepare for the worst.
“Even though it’s a beautiful place, we live in a place that can become very dangerous and risky in a moment,” Benson explained.
In addition, Benson ensured fire departments and city leaders prioritized fire prevention and emergency training and coordinated their plans with neighbors in West Alameda and West Contra Costa counties.
Doug Mosher, vice chairman of the Firesafe Council, said, “He’s just done a very good job as president and as co-founder, and Oakland owes Ken a great debt of gratitude.”
In fact, when the Keller Fire outbreak that evacuated hundreds of residents from the Oakland hills in October, firefighters quickly attacked and contained the wind-swept flames to 40 acres and two damaged homes.
It could have been much worse if the city, fire department and fire safety board had not done their emergency planning.
“We missed a big one, but part of the reason is people were prepared, so it worked,” Benson said.
Benson recently moved out of state to be with most of his family, but he still serves as secretary of the Oakland Firesafe Council, which meets regularly via Zoom.
He said the best part of volunteering is helping save lives.
Benson tells the story of a fire survivor he met a few years ago at a hotel outside the city.
“The manager came out from behind the desk, hugged me and said, ‘Thank you for your website, for our guides, for your .pdfs, your information that you share.’ It helped us survive the terrible fire in Redding,” Benson recalls. “That was one of the best memories I’ve had about why it’s important to do this.”
For his leadership in protecting neighbors in high-risk areas from wildfires, this week’s Bay Area Jefferson Award goes to Ken Benson.
Sharon Chin
