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This Week's Fire Weather
Thursday's forecast high in Orinda is near 90. The National Weather Service expects highs in the upper 60s today, then a steady climb: near 72 on Tuesday, near 77 on Wednesday and near 90 on Thursday. Forecasters expect highs in the 80s to low 90s across the region from Thursday through Saturday, warmer than normal for mid-October. As of Sunday morning there were no weather alerts for our area and no Red Flag Warning. Forecasts change, so check the National Weather Service alerts again before the weekend.
Sources: NWS forecast for Orinda · NWS Bay Area forecast discussion (Oct. 11, 2026)
A Power Shutoff Reached the East Bay This Weekend
On Thursday, October 8, PG&E sent notices to customers in parts of 17 counties, Alameda among them, warning that it might turn off power for safety as gusty winds and low humidity raised fire danger. Contra Costa County was not on the list for this event. On Friday afternoon it began shutting off power in targeted areas, and by 3 p.m. it had expanded the shutoff to customers in Alameda, Merced and San Joaquin counties. PG&E's list put about 386 Alameda County customers in the potential shutoff area, out of about 12,200 across all 17 counties. By Saturday afternoon PG&E said power was back for essentially all of the customers shut off on Friday, while warning that another outage might be needed as conditions changed.
A Public Safety Power Shutoff is a planned outage, not an evacuation order, but it comes on the days when fire danger is high. PG&E says how long one lasts depends on the weather and on any repairs crews find they need to make. While it lasts, everything that runs on electricity stops: the garage door opener, the Wi-Fi, the refrigerator, medical equipment. With warm, dry weather back late this week, here are three things worth ten minutes today:
- Sign up for PG&E's shutoff alerts for your address at pge.com/addressalerts (no account needed, so it works for renters and for a parent's home too), and bookmark PG&E's shutoff lookup page.
- If someone at home depends on powered medical equipment, look into PG&E's Medical Baseline program. PG&E says enrolled customers get additional alerts before a shutoff. Enrollment needs a medical practitioner's certification, so it won't help this week, but it's worth starting now.
- With the garage door fully closed, find the manual release on the opener (usually a red cord) and try it once in daylight. Never pull it with the door open, because the door can drop.
→ PSPS Preparation: ready your home for a shutoff · Emergency Alert & Warning Systems
Source: PG&E Currents, PSPS updates (Oct. 9 and 10, 2026) · PG&E, Medical Baseline Program · PG&E, Get PSPS alerts
Regulatory Update: Two New Laws for Homeowners After a Wildfire
Two insurance bills signed last month got fresh attention this week, and both matter if a fire ever reaches a neighborhood like ours. AB 2038, signed September 30, lengthens the post-wildfire freeze on cancellations. Under existing law, insurers can't cancel or decline to renew a home policy in a ZIP code within or next to a fire perimeter solely because a wildfire happened there, for one year after a state of emergency. AB 2038 extends that to two years. For a home that's a total loss, it requires insurers to offer renewal for at least three annual periods (36 months) instead of two. There are exceptions, such as gross negligence or later changes that make a property uninsurable. AB 2038 takes effect January 1, 2027.
AB 1795, the Smoke Damage Recovery Act, signed September 15, sets standards for investigating, testing and restoring smoke-damaged homes after a wildfire. Within a defined wildfire impact zone, when smoke, ash or soot is found in a surviving home, the law presumes that fire caused the damage unless the insurer shows otherwise. According to the Department of Insurance, its provisions take effect in stages from January 2027 through July 2029. Both laws help after a fire. The hardening and defensible space work that lowers the odds of needing them still happens before one.
Zone 0: no change. As of Sunday, October 11, the state Office of Administrative Law's list of emergency regulations under review still showed no Zone 0 filing, so the new state Zone 0 rules are still not in effect. That is about the state rules only: local fire codes and existing defensible space requirements still apply, and MOFD's Fire Prevention Office (Moraga and Orinda) or ConFire (Lafayette) is the place to ask what applies to your property today.
→ Post-Fire Recovery & Rebuilding · Lamorinda Insurance Navigation Guide · Where the Zone 0 rules stand
Sources: AB 2038, chaptered text (Ch. 917, Statutes of 2026) · California Department of Insurance (Sep. 30, 2026) · Insurance Business (Oct. 7, 2026) · AB 1795, chaptered text (Ch. 240, Statutes of 2026) · Claims Journal (Oct. 8, 2026) · OAL, Emergency Regulations Under Review (checked Oct. 11, 2026)
Community Bulletin
Two new Firewise neighborhoods in Lafayette. Hamlin Road and Las Trampas have earned Firewise USA recognition, the City of Lafayette announced on Friday. Together they cover more than 300 homes, and the city says Lafayette now has more Firewise communities than any other city in Contra Costa County. Firewise is a national program, run by the National Fire Protection Association, that recognizes neighborhoods organizing to reduce wildfire risk together. Lafayette residents can check the city's Firewise page and map to see whether they're already in one, or email lafayettefirewise@gmail.com about starting one. Our Firewise explainer covers what recognition does and doesn't get you.
New leadership at Lamorinda CERT. Duncan Seibert, who has led Lamorinda CERT as program manager since 2011, has moved to Program Manager Emeritus. In August, MOFD honored him with a proclamation crediting 38 basic training class series and more than 1,000 volunteers trained during his tenure. Todd Combellick, an EMT, is the new program manager, and Daniel Lin, an occupational therapist, is deputy program manager. CERT's monthly presentation is tonight, Monday, October 12, at 7 p.m. on Zoom: CERT instructor Bruce Macler and EBMUD representatives on earthquakes and emergency drinking water. Join through CERT's meeting page after 6:50 p.m.
Save the date: Safe at Scale, Thursday, October 29. The Orinda Theatre hosts a screening of the PBS documentary Weathered: After the LA Firestorm, followed by a panel with Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, State Senator Tim Grayson, Steve Hawks of IBHS, MOFD Chief Jeff Isaacs and director Trip Jennings. The event runs 7 to 9:30 p.m., with doors at 6. According to Lafayette's Weekly Roundup, tickets are $10 for the screening, and the panel is open to all at the theater or on Zoom. Details and tickets are on the theater's event page.
Sources: City of Lafayette Weekly Roundup (Oct. 9, 2026) · Lamorinda Weekly (Sep. 9, 2026) · Orinda Theatre
Around the Bay: Lessons from Neighbors
Fuel breaks on Mount Diablo. The San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, our neighbor to the southeast, will receive $2 million in state funding for fuel breaks and fire-reduction work in and around Mount Diablo State Park, according to Bay City News. The district requested the money through Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda).
Smoke travels. California State Parks and its partners burned 147 acres on Angel Island on September 8 and 23, the island's first broadcast prescribed burns since the late 1990s. Bay Nature reports that the fire stayed where crews intended, but afternoon wind shifts carried smoke toward the East Bay, and further broadcast burns there are on hold until at least the end of the year. Our guide to MOFD's prescribed burns explains how to check whether a local burn is scheduled, and which kinds of smoke mean you should call 911.
Sources: Danville San Ramon / Bay City News (Oct. 7, 2026) · Bay Nature (Oct. 8, 2026)
One Thing to Do This Week
Clear your gutters before Thursday's warm-up. Fall leaf drop is starting, and dry oak leaves and pine needles packed into a gutter sit right at the roof edge, where wind-blown embers land. Clear the gutters and any roof valleys where leaves collect. While you're up there, check whether your gutters have foam inserts; our gutter guide explains why foam is the one kind of guard to take out in fire country. Use a sturdy ladder and a second person to steady it, and if ladders aren't for you, this is a reasonable job to hand off.
→ Gutter Guards: the cheapest big fix · Year-Round Maintenance Calendar
Where to Start if You're New Here
The best first step is to check your fire zone, which takes about a minute. Our Home Fire Readiness Score, a self-assessment of where your home stands, is not open yet; the same page lets you join the list and we will let you know when it is. In the meantime, start here:
- The Big Three: roof, vents, and defensible space, the highest-priority moves for a Lamorinda home
- Home Hardening Checklist: the full walk-around list of upgrades that make a home ember-resistant
- 72-Hour Go Bag Build: the kit that covers you for a power shutoff and an evacuation alike
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Lamorinda Ready is a community education resource. This newsletter is for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, insurance, financial, construction, or emergency response advice. Weather information is as reported by the National Weather Service through Sunday morning, October 11, 2026, and power shutoff information is as reported by PG&E through Saturday afternoon, October 10; both will have changed since, so check official sources for current conditions. Bill summaries are based on the chaptered text and on descriptions by the California Department of Insurance and the cited outlets; consult the bill text, your policy, or a licensed professional for how they apply to you. The Zone 0 status reflects OAL's public records as checked on October 11, 2026, and can change at any time. Event details are as listed by the organizers and cited sources; confirm with them before attending. Always consult qualified professionals and official agencies (MOFD, ConFire, your city, PG&E) before making decisions about your home or property. Content available through links in this newsletter is subject to the same limitations.
Header photo: PG&E 500 kV power lines crossing State Route 36 in Tehama County, California, by Hydrogen Iodide, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Lamorinda Ready
Practical resilience for Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda.
1480 Moraga Rd Ste C #188, Moraga, CA 94556