El Cerrito launches ambitious project to reduce wildfire threat on Quarry Hill

On an otherwise quiet Friday morning, a chainsaw buzzed through the Hillside Natural Area in El Cerrito. Then, a massive eucalyptus tree crashed to the ground, causing a loud thud that echoed across the hillside and threw up a cloud of dust and wood chips.

Behind the safety line, workers moved their equipment into position as freshly cut branches and logs lay scattered across the work area. Where trees have already come down, the hillside is now open, offering a preview of what the rest of the hillside will look like once the project is complete. 

The work is part of a years-in-the-making plan to reduce wildfire risk and restore native habitat by removing fire-prone eucalyptus and other invasive trees from about 8.7 acres of Quarry Hill, a section of the Hillside Natural Area. The effort is part of a larger wildfire resilience and forest conservation effort developed by El Cerrito and Albany, with grant funding from the State Coastal Conservancy.

El Cerrito hired Powers Forestry in August to remove trees from three areas of Quarry Hill. Work began Sept. 1 and is expected to take about 45 working days. Crews are working weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“The city wants to take the most balanced approach to this,” said Stephen Prée, El Cerrito environmental programs manager and city arborist. That means reducing fire fuels, while also conserving and enhancing native plants and habitats, he said.

A rock quarry operator planted the eucalyptus grove on Quarry Hill around 1910 to keep loose rock and soil from sliding. Some trees are now about a century old.

Cal Fire designates the area a High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Eucalyptus, acacia, Monterey cypress and Monterey pine on the hillside are not native and considered fire risks. Prée said the city considered thinning the eucalyptus groves before deciding that removing them was a more long-term solution and more effective economically. 

The decision followed about two years of assessments for the city’s Hillside Natural Area Fire Resilience and Forest Conservation Management Plan, which the City Council approved in June 2025.

Prée pointed to two reasons for acting now: wildfire risk is growing as the region warms and sees more extreme weather, and the availability of state grant money. 

The project is funded with $510,000 from the Coastal Conservancy, as part of an $850,000 grant to the Albany–El Cerrito Wildfire Resilience Demonstration Project. About $400,000 will go toward tree removal, with the remainder covering geotechnical work, biological surveys and planting. 

Prée said he was not aware of any opposition to the project, which he attributed partly to the extensive public process behind the management plan, including community meetings and a public comment period.

John Bailey, a professor of forest engineering, resources and management at Oregon State University, said removing trees can help reduce wildfire risk when it is part of a broader effort to manage combustible material. The approach is widely recognized in forest management, he said, particularly as communities face the effects of climate change. However, simply cutting down trees does not necessarily reduce fire risk.

“If you harvest the trees and bring all those leaves and branches down to the ground and don’t actually remove the fuel,” Bailey said, “then in many ways, you make fire behavior more intense.”

He added that removing invasive trees also can help restore wildlife habitat and native plants. Long-term vegetation management, including prescribed burns where appropriate, is key to reducing wildfire risk.

El Cerrito’s project includes removing the felled trees. 

As part of the project, residents can attend a public wood-milling demonstration at 10 a.m. on Oct. 31 at the El Cerrito Recycling Center rear yard, where some of the removed eucalyptus will be turned into lumber for benches and other things. El Cerrito also plans to hold a community fire-resistant landscapes day, where residents can learn how to manage landscapes to reduce wildfire risk. 

The city has hired a biological consultant to survey the area before and during the tree removal and develop recommendations for restoring native habitat. Prée said native plants are expected to benefit after the eucalyptus are removed.

To keep eucalyptus and acacia from resprouting — which eucalyptus, especially, is known to do— crews will treat the area with an approved herbicide that doesn’t include glyphosate, a toxin that kills many types of weeds and grasses but has raised concerns for non-targeted plants. 

Prée said the treatment is “very pinpointed, very specific.”

Some parts of Quarry Hill will more open views after the trees are removed. The change, Prée added, could affect wildlife, notably birds of prey that use the tall trees as perches.

Jun Wu, an El Cerrito resident who frequently hikes at Quarry Hill, said the tree removal project brings mixed feelings.

“It’s always sad to see so many trees cut down, especially trees that have been here for so many years,” Wu said. “I understand the need to reduce wildfire risks, and I’m happy to see the city taking action. I just hope the city can preserve as much of the area’s original character as possible while keeping people safe.”

Removing the trees is only the first step. After the removal, biologists will assess the area before the city starts restoring native plants. The city then will nurture native plant growth, bringing more coast live oak, toyon, sticky monkey flower, California goldenrod and California buckwheat to the hillside.

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