Several streets in the Oakland and Berkeley hills will be closed in an effort to lower fire risk during the Fourth of July holiday, officials said.
Oakland’s Lake Merritt will also include a road closure and additional city staffing to manage the large crowds that are expected to flock to celebrations by the water.
The closures will impact Grizzly Peak Boulevard, Panoramic Way, Prospect Street and Centennial Drive in the hills.
Fireworks, even those marketed as “safe and sane,” remain illegal in Oakland, Berkeley, and in East Bay Regional Parks, officials said.
“They can cause severe injuries and start fires — posing threats of fires and health risks especially in the hills where dry grass and vegetation is abundant providing fuel for fires to spread quickly,” the city of Berkeley’s website reads.
For a 24-hour-period starting at 5 a.m. on July 4, the portion of Grizzly Peak Boulevard from Centennial Drive to Skyline Boulevard in Berkeley and Oakland will be closed to traffic. All turnouts will be closed and stopping will not be allowed. Ride-share vehicles, delivery vehicles and residents in cars, on bikes or on foot will still be able to enter the closed portion, according to the city.
The portion of Centennial Drive between Stadium Rim Way and Grizzly Peak Boulevard will also be closed during the same time period, according to a UC Berkeley WarnMe notification.
Panoramic Way and Prospect Street will both be closed from 2 p.m. to midnight, according to the city.
The Lawrence Hall of Science and UC Botanical Gardens will be closed July 4, according to the city — as will the Tilden Park Steam Trains, Jen Vanya, a spokesperson for the East Bay Regional Park District, confirmed in an email.
None of the roads within Tilden Regional Park will be closed, Vanya said in an email.
The Grizzly Peak Boulevard corridor closure was intended to reduce crowds and illegal parking at lookout points, allowing first responders to travel around the ridgeline to respond to 911 calls, Oakland officials said online.
The closure, a partnership between Oakland, Berkeley, East Bay Regional Parks, UC Berkeley, Moraga-Orinda Fire District, Alameda County, CalFire and the California Department of Transportation, was touted by officials in the 2023 statement as a “great success,” as there have been no confirmed fires in the four years it’s been in place.
Around Lake Merritt, Lakeshore Avenue’s southbound lane will be closed to through traffic from MacArthur Boulevard to E. 18th Street on the Fourth of July. Bellevue Avenue will be entirely closed but visitors to Children’s Fairyland will still be able to enter the park. El Embarcadero will be closed and parts of Grand Avenue will be closed off to traffic, including the I-580 offramp.
Oakland officials say extra city staff from the Oakland Police Department, Oakland Fire Department, Oakland Public Works, Department of Transportation, and Parks, Recreation, and Youth Development will be present around the lake to manage large crowds. The California Highway Patrol will also support Oakland.
