Berkeley is clearing its last large homeless camp Tuesday, citing a fire hazard, public nuisance and the need for rodent abatement.

The city announced the closure Friday and said tent campers in the Harrison Street corridor had to clear out by Tuesday.

Vehicle dwellers and a handful of disabled campers protected by court orders were allowed to stay.

Tuesday morning, local residents were able to watch the cleanup online via KTVU helicopter footage.

One person described heavy equipment and dump trucks assisting with the cleanup.

Send tips and photos to The Scanner.

In a brief statement Tuesday afternoon, the city confirmed only that staff were on site to close the camp.

There were no arrests, but police were preparing a case for the DA's office against two people who failed to comply with orders to keep their distance, BPD said.

According to the city's most recent public notice, leptospirosis remains "present in this area." Rodent abatement is necessary "to prevent further spread," officials said.

Due to the leptospirosis risk, city workers were told not to sort through belongings. The city provided storage containers for items not deemed hazardous or contaminated.

Berkeley said it would replace tents, sleeping bags and clothing it had to discard, and provide vouchers if replacements ran out.

The notice also acknowledged Berkeley's "limited number of shelter beds" and asked residents to call outreach workers, the county's 211 line and local housing resource centers for help.

The Harrison Street encampment has been the focus of a lengthy legal battle with advocates over Berkeley's plan to clear the area. Local business owners have filed their own lawsuit.

The city has cited worsening conditions, including rats, leptospirosis, fires and sanitation problems, while advocates have challenged whether Berkeley has sufficiently accommodated disabled residents.

Meanwhile, police and fire activity at the camp has continued, with at least two violent incidents reported over the weekend and a debris fire Tuesday morning near University Village in Albany, according to public records.

The Scanner has requested details about Tuesday's operation from the city and Berkeley Homeless Union. This story will be updated if they are provided.

The Berkeley City Council is set to appoint Opler at its Sept. 29 meeting as part of the consent calendar.

She would start Oct. 5 at a salary of $230,000.

The full council agenda has not been posted, and the city has released no information about Opler's background. She appears to have no LinkedIn page or public social media profiles.

The Scanner has asked the city of Berkeley and the Police Accountability Board for more information.

Opler worked as a police officer in San Francisco in 2013 and 2014, according to public payroll records.

She quit that job because of concerns about a partner who had an "unconstitutional" approach to policing, a Madison, Wisconsin, radio station reported late last year, when Opler was a finalist for the role of independent police monitor in that city.

After working as a police officer, Opler attended law school at the University of Washington, where she was the president of the Student Bar Association in 2017.

She began working as a criminal prosecutor in King County in 2018 and was there for several years, according to public payroll records.

In a finalist forum in Madison last year, Opler said her work as an attorney would prepare her well for the top police oversight job, where she planned to close open cases and "speak truth to power," local news site Isthmus reported.

"Opler said she has personally overseen more than 1,000 internal review cases," the news site reported.

(Another candidate ultimately got that job and is now in an "ongoing dispute" with the Madison city attorney's office over possible violations, according to Wisconsin State Journal.)

Opler was also a finalist to run Denver's Citizen Oversight Board in 2022.

At the time, she oversaw "police and fire department internal affairs investigations at the Sacramento Office of Public Safety Accountability," The Denver Post reported. "In that role, she investigates police shootings and serves as a liaison with the local civilian police review board."

She also "worked in emergency response for the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency," the newspaper reported.

The selection processes in Denver and Madison both included public meetings where candidates spoke directly to the public and fielded questions.

That didn't happen in Berkeley.

Earlier this year, the city held public meetings about what the director of police accountability should do and the skills they should have, but the finalists were never public.

The city held finalist interviews in July with a community panel that included several Police Accountability Board members, with city staff and with a council subcommittee comprising Mayor Adena Ishii, Cecilia Lunaparra and Mark Humbert.

The full City Council informally selected Opler as its top choice in a closed-session meeting July 24, according to an individual who was not authorized to speak publicly about the process.

At the time, the city said there was no official action to report from the meeting.

As of 2025, Opler was listed as an investigations supervisor with Seattle's Office of Police Accountability.

The Scanner has asked Seattle officials whether Opler still works for the city and will update this story if information becomes available.

Berkeley's former police accountability director, Hansel Aguilar, sued the city in May for wrongful termination after issuing a public statement in his defense when he was removed in February.

As of this week, the city had filed no response to Aguilar's lawsuit and said it had not been served. The initial hearing, a case management conference, is set for Oct. 20, according to court records.

Watch: Mary Opler in Madison in 2025

Her segment begins about 55 minutes into the recording.

A second unrelated attack happened Sunday night in the same area, according to records reviewed by The Berkeley Scanner.

On Saturday morning, a man in his 40s flagged down the Berkeley Fire Department for help with a head wound he'd just sustained in the Harrison Street homeless encampment near Eighth Street, police said.

He told authorities a woman had broken a ceramic coffee cup over his head, which shattered and cut him, Berkeley police said.

She then hit him with a barbecue grill and chased him while wielding a sledgehammer, he said.

The victim and other witnesses — all encampment residents — described the attack as unprovoked, police said.

Megan Strahl. BPD

Police arrested the suspect, 35-year-old Megan Strahl, at the end of Eighth Street near the Albany border and confiscated the sledgehammer, BPD said.

Strahl, who also lives in the encampment, has a 2022 conviction for felony arson and has been on probation since July 2026 for vandalism, according to court papers and police.

Strahl also has a stay-away order from Blue Willow Teaspot on 10th Street following a separate vandalism report last year.

She is now in custody, held on $70,000 bail, at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

Strahl is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday.

Saturday morning's attack was one of two reported at the encampment over the weekend.

On Sunday night, a local hospital called to report that a man had come in for treatment after being struck by someone with a crowbar at Eighth and Harrison streets.

The man, who had been hit in the head and on his body, left before police arrived.

Officers determined that he was not the same man injured Saturday morning but had no other information about the incident.

The Harrison encampment has also seen numerous fires this year, with 26 calls to the Berkeley Fire Department including about a dozen involving tents that burned.

‘The usual’ location: Fires plague Berkeley homeless camp

Newly obtained records detail fire calls in the Harrison Street corridor. Encampment residents weigh in.

The Berkeley ScannerGuest Contributor

The incident began at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday when someone called 911 to report a burglary in the 1100 block of Carrison Street in West Berkeley.

A resident had come home to discover their door open. A neighbor told them a stranger had been inside.

The burglar was able to get in through a window, police said.

Officers got the burglar's description and spotted him about 40 minutes later at Shattuck Avenue and Kittredge Street downtown, police said.

When officers tried to stop him, the man dumped his backpack and took off running.

Police caught up with him on Bancroft Way and arrested him, authorities said.

He was identified as 42-year-old Ajuwon Muhammad. His city of residence was not immediately available.

When police searched the backpack, they found a gun that had been stolen from another city, BPD said.

Muhammad was arrested on suspicion of having a gun and ammunition, burglary, being a felon in possession of a firearm and other crimes, according to booking records.

He was also arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure in an occupied home.

Among his long list of criminal cases in Alameda County Superior Court, Muhammad was convicted of burglary in March and placed on probation, according to court records.

He is being held on $262,500 bail and is set for arraignment Tuesday.

Tuesday's burn covered 62 acres and consumed "50-70% of the fuels within the burn plots," said firefighter Sean Jerry of Cal Fire's Sonoma Lake Napa Unit in a Facebook video this week.

In the post, Jerry joined Graham Groneman, from the Marin County Fire Department, and Naftali Moed, from California State Parks, to "address some of the concerns we've been hearing regarding smoke impacts" from the Angel Island burn.

Many local residents questioned the timing of the operation, particularly after the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) issued a Spare the Air alert on Tuesday for Wednesday. On Wednesday and Thursday, a heat advisory was also in effect.

Writing Tuesday night on Facebook, Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia said the Angel Island burn had "caused a high level of harmful Particulate Matter (PM) in West Contra Costa County" that day.

He wrote that the next day's controlled burn had been canceled "due to air quality issues."

In the Facebook video, Groneman said authorities look closely at local forecasts before scheduling prescribed burns "in close conjunction" with BAAQMD to try to minimize community impacts.

"We work closely with the Air District to evaluate weather forecasts to try and really align these types of projects with the least impactful weather conditions that we can find," he said. "And we really look for those small windows that have the greatest ability to disperse the smoke in the least impactful manner."

Groneman said officials first assess whether a burn can be done safely. Then they look at potential smoke impacts.

"There were smoke impacts, and we acknowledge that," he said, quickly adding: "The impacts that we'll see from uncontrolled wildfire are much greater."

Moed, from the park service, described prescribed fire as "a critical tool" for land management and keeping plants healthy enough to sustain local wildlife.

Jerry noted that Tuesday's burn had started before Wednesday's Spare the Air alert was announced.

After it was, authorities decided to cancel the next two days of scheduled burns and instead focus on cleanup.

"We're always going to strive to do our best to reduce impacts to the community from smoke while balancing the need to get this work done and do so in a safe manner," Moed said.

Read the Sept. 4 Facebook announcement and updated press release about the controlled burn at Angel Island State Park.

About a dozen tents have caught fire in Berkeley's Harrison Street homeless encampment since the start of the year, according to new reports.

Documents obtained by The Berkeley Scanner detailed six calls since January involving tents engulfed in flames.

As of mid-August, the Berkeley Fire Department had tallied 26 calls to the encampment, said Deputy Fire Chief Keith May in response to a Scanner inquiry. Five were due to cooking fires, with others involving burning debris and unattended warming fires.

"Our concern is not simply the number of calls, but the conditions surrounding these incidents and the potential for a relatively small fire to extend beyond its original footprint," he said.

An "obstructed fire hydrant" in the area has limited the water supply, he added.

Officials declared the encampment a fire hazard and public nuisance following a July 10 fire that threatened the post office on Harrison Street between Seventh and Eighth streets, the city said.

A city fire marshal cited the encampment's "unsafe structures, unsafe storage of propane containers, accumulation of combustible materials, and accumulations in close proximity to existing property lines" in a July 27 letter to homeless residents.

In January, firefighters encountered 20- to 30-foot flames as several tents and rubbish burned near the post office, threatening nearby trees and a brick fence. Fire crews used foam to help extinguish the blaze.

In February, authorities said BBQ grill use was responsible for a fire that spread to two or three tents, with proximity being a major factor.

In a March incident, a fire that destroyed two tents broke out at 3:30 a.m. It spread to a nearby tree, with flames reaching power lines. A witness reported "popping sounds."

On July 10, witnesses reported a tent and car on fire, with flames close to the building, as people fled the post office amid the sound of explosions. A fire captain wrote that it occurred "at the usual 8th and Harrison location."

No injuries were reported in the six calls reviewed by The Scanner.

"I can see why people think it's the only answer"

For months, legal disputes have kept the city from closing the encampment.

On a recent visit, joggers and dog walkers passed the encampment as debris and makeshift structures spilled into the street.

Longtime Harrison Street corridor resident Elester Shelton II said people in the area have sometimes set tents on fire to settle scores.

Shelton, who has lived with chronic illness for decades, said life on the streets is stressful enough without worrying about fires.

"I never set shit on fire … but it's understandable why some people take it there. I can see why people think it's the only answer," Shelton told The Berkeley Scanner.

He said it felt like the city only paid attention "because we're in a business community."

Last month, Berkeley police arrested 60-year-old Patrick Ford on suspicion of setting encampment debris on fire in anger over a stolen scooter, authorities have said. He was charged with felony arson and misdemeanor domestic violence.

Sharif, who also lives in the Harrison Street corridor, said the fires threaten the safety of both housed and unhoused residents and don't get as much law enforcement attention as they deserve.

The Marine Corps veteran was part of the longstanding encampment at People's Park before UC Berkeley closed it to build housing.

When that camp was disbanded, many of its residents scattered to other parts of the city, including the Harrison Street corridor.

"I've been on the ground and helped put those fires out, and also reported the individuals to the police. Frankly, [police have] done nothing," he said. "There have been a couple of other incidents that involved fireworks."

Quinton, another encampment resident who gave only his first name, lives with his dog right off the post office vehicle entrance. Fire reports indicate several fires nearby, but he said he has no plans to move.

Stuffed animals hung by ropes along the post office wall behind his tent site.

"It's amazing how fast some structures, like the ones around here, will go up in flames," he said. "But there haven't been a lot of fires here near me, as far as I know."

Read the reports: Tent fires in the Harrison Street corridor

• Jan. 11
• Feb. 6
• March 30
• April 3
• June 10
• July 10

Vicente Vera is a freelance reporter based in the Bay Area who graduated from the San Jose State University School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He covers politics, community and culture.

The city warned of "extreme heat" in an AC Alert announcement sent Tuesday shortly after 4 p.m.

"AVOID outdoor activities or limit direct sun exposure," the city said. "Drink water and take breaks in the shade. Check on neighbors and elders throughout the day and make sure their homes are cooled properly."

The city's full advisory, including cooling center locations, appears below with minor edits.

The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory for Berkeley starting now until Thursday, September 10 at 10:00 PM. Temperatures are expected in the low 90s.

Take steps today to make sure your household, neighbors, and loved ones stay safe and comfortable during this heat wave.

1. Prepare to stay cool in your home: Gather supplies to stay cool, like fans and ice. Watch this video about how to keep your house cool in the summer without air conditioning.
2. Keep your body cool. In hot temperatures, sweating cools your body down. In this process, you lose water, so plan to stay hydrated by preparing ice and cold water to drink.
3. Buddy up with your friends, family, and neighbors: Make a plan to check on the vulnerable people in your network at least twice daily through Thursday. Elders, children, people with certain medical conditions, and people who live alone can be very vulnerable to heat.
4. Plan where to go if your home gets too hot: City libraries and senior centers will be open if you need a safe, cool place to escape the heat. These sites have air conditioning:

• Central Library, 2090 Kittredge (Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
• Claremont Branch, 2940 Benvenue (Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Thursday, noon to 8 p.m.)
• Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch Library (Community room only), 1901 Russell (Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Thursday, noon to 8 p.m.)
• North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. (Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
• South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. (Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

Berkeley residents have been smelling smoke all day due to a controlled burn on Angel Island.

Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit has been sharing updates about the operation all day.

The prescribed burn resulted in moderate air quality on Tuesday, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's "Spare the Air" map.

A Spare the Air alert has been issued for Wednesday.

"Among the habitat improvement objectives of the project is to restore fire to the oak woodland forest areas, reduce the buildup of dead and down trees and enhance native perennial grass cover while reducing non-native species," Cal Fire wrote in a Facebook post.

"State Parks has previously conducted pile burning operations in multiple years since 2021 with support from Marin County Fire. However, broadcast burns have not occurred here since the mid-1990s."

The operation brought 110 people to Angel Island to conduct Tuesday's prescribed burn.

"There are eight fire engines of varying types, three hand crews, one water tender, several water holding tanks and a CAL FIRE Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) team on site that will be conducting aerial ignitions to assist with burning operations."

Angel Island controlled burn: What to expect

• Smoke may be visible to Bay Area residents and travelers on nearby highways
• The park and campgrounds will remain open during the burn
• Some trails and roads near burn areas may be temporarily closed for public safety. This includes portions of the Ida Trail, Sunset Trail and the park’s fire and perimeter roads.
• Access to the Mt. Livermore summit may be restricted

Learn more on the Angel Island State Park website.

A unique new art exhibit at Berkeley's ACCI Gallery, on Shattuck Avenue near Virginia Street, wants to help.

The show, called "Zone 0: New opportunities for art in the garden," features an array of carefully selected sculpture, birdbaths, wall plaques and other artistic pieces made from noncombustible materials such as ceramic, metal and glass that shouldn't burst into flames or smolder in a fire.

As such, these works are allowed in defensible space Zone 0: the area extending out 5 feet from structures, where a city ordinance bans combustible materials from most plants to mulch and wood furniture in two Berkeley neighborhoods most vulnerable to wildfire.

Defensible space is the technical term for yard clearing and maintenance to mitigate the impacts of wildfire. It's legally required in high hazard areas in California.

The strictest clearing is closest to structures or in Zone 0, based on research showing how embers blowing in from wildfire can collect here, igniting buildings.

"When you take something away from people, there is always blowback, so I thought the opportunity of replacing it with art was a nice way of smoothing the effect of the ordinance," said ceramicist Susan Gold of San Francisco, whose elegantly simple ceramic birdbaths are among works in the show.

"I really like the challenge of making something for a specific purpose," Gold adds.

"This show was conceived to give people ideas and options for what is possible. Beauty, in a new form, can be brought into your garden," writes Ruth Ehrenkrantz, the show's curator, in background information posted with the exhibit, which includes artist talks.

"The trickle of water through a fountain, a mobile moving in the breeze, ceramic totems and animals adding color to the landscape, or a bird feeding or taking a bath. These elements can connect us to the garden along with a more curated grouping of plant life that maintains greater protection," writes Ehrenkrantz, who is also an artist.

Zone 0 inspires a new kind of garden art

The idea for the Zone 0 art show began with residents who had to do the work, said Ehrenkrantz, who has embraced defensible space at her own home in one of Berkeley's high fire hazard areas, despite being outside the Ember zone.

Someone from a local Firewise group, a voluntary national program focused on wildfire safety that has over 20 Berkeley clubs, suggested the Zone 0 theme while attending a different ACCI show.

"And I said, 'Of course we should,'" said Ehrenkrantz. And she got to work.

The show, which runs until Sept. 27, includes works from 28 artists. Some responded to a gallery call for work. Others were invited to apply.

The art ranges from large sculptural pieces to small statuettes or yard trinkets, from abstract to realistic. Some pieces are functional, some decorative. The natural world, in hues and tones and surfaces and shapes, is a common theme.

"My work is inspired by nature," said artist Terri Scheid, a show exhibitor of ceramic cairns, or stacked rock- or pebble-like shapes, colorful and intricately painted and glazed, looking like monuments or markers — in the eye of the beholder.

"I like the idea of cairns… used to mark your way, or used as a memorial," said Scheid, an ACCI member who lives in Richmond, near Wildcat Canyon, and must create defensible space in her yard.

But this isn't what led her to the Zone 0 show. She always saw her work as indoor. But when asked to join the exhibit, it hit her, she said. Her work "can withstand the Bay Area climate." And is noncombustible.

"It clicked with my brain," she said.

The cairn concept came to her from playing with her son, Scheid said, stacking rocks at the beach, creating Lego towers. She has a small kiln, which suits piecing or linking together smaller objects for a whole. She described her pieces as microcosms and primordial. Reflecting microscopic elements.

"The installation part is exciting too," said Scheid, adding that she likes helping people place her work.

Rethinking the fire-safe garden

For landscape architect Ian Moore, who has a large concrete water fountain in the show, major design like public pathways came first, including civic projects.

In recent years, Moore said, he's evolved to focus on smaller, more intimate artistic projects, including for individual yards. Work he calls more immediate, tactile and within his control.

"I was contemplating producing more sculptural work, and I saw the call for projects and immediately thought: This is a good match for me," said Moore, who's experienced in working with concrete.

He created the fountain, crafted to echo the natural world with a pebble-filled basin and delicate fern leaf imprints, specifically for the gallery.

"My artistic inspiration is to integrate natural form and process into human artifacts. I like to use growth, erosion, decay, fire, fossilization; and to alter the character of objects often considered separate from nature," Moore said.

Moore is familiar with Zone 0 from his local landscaping work. Removing plants around houses and adjusting to hardscape is challenging, he said. But he senses growing acceptance and adjustment as people learn attractive yards can be found in new ways.

"We're at a point where we've crossed a boundary or gotten over the hump a little bit," Moore said.

Michel Thouati, an active Berkeley Firewise leader and Zone 0 advocate, was one person who encouraged Ehrenkrantz to do the show.

Among his neighbors, he said, yard art has long been part of the discussion.

"A lot of us have talked so much about what we're going to do about our zone zeroes, how are we going to make this work?" Thouati said. "From the beginning we talked about using noncombustible art."

A year or so ago, he started a Pinterest site devoted to the concept, intended to be shared.

The city, on its FireSafe wildfire preparation website, also shares landscaping ideas that include noncombustible art.

Ehrenkrantz said she intentionally included works for different budgets in the show, knowing not everyone can afford pricy outdoor installments.

She also promotes making your own noncombustible art, and hopes the show will inspire people.

"You can make your own fountain," Ehrenkrantz said. "You can make your own orb."

Final Berkeley vote on strict new wildfire plan expected tonight

Update: Berkeley officials unanimously approved EMBER shortly after 11 p.m. following hours of public comment on both sides.

The Berkeley ScannerKate Darby Rauch

California's Zone 0 rules are nearly final

Defensible space requirements in California's highest wildfire hazard severity zones, including parts of the Berkeley Hills, are mandated by state law. Zone 0 was adopted in 2021.

Local jurisdictions such as cities can go stricter than the state, but not more lenient.

About 1,400 properties in Berkeley are subject to the city's Zone 0 rules, adopted last year as part of its Ember initiative.

The Berkeley standards took shape as the state struggled to do the same.

The state Board of Forestry & Fire Protection has taken years to come up with final regulations. As in Berkeley, it faced deep divisions, mainly over the flammability of plants near buildings, reflecting differing opinions of the research.

In August, the state adopted near-final Zone 0 standards.

Unlike Berkeley, the state calls for a 1-foot noncombustible "safety zone" without plants that can extend up to 5 feet depending on the width of eaves and the placement of doors, windows and other elements.

If eaves extend 2 feet, so does the safety zone. After this, non-woody herbaceous plants are allowed to the 5-foot mark, as long as they are well-spaced and less than 18 inches tall.

The safety zone is 2 feet from doors and windows — unless eaves extend farther; and 5 feet out from decks, stairs and pergolas.

As with Berkeley, combustible fences must have a 5-foot gap or noncombustible section against structures.

The state regulations will cover an estimated 2 million properties and apply immediately to new construction. Existing homes will have up to five years to comply.

Berkeley Zone 0 inspections focus on progress

In Berkeley, Ember inspections began in January, initially by request. In June, the fire department began knocking on doors.

Under the city ordinance, property owners have 60 days to fix violations, which can result in fees over time.

For now, the fire department has eased off hard deadlines, favoring an educational approach, said Colin Arnold, assistant Berkeley fire chief over the wildland division.

As long as steps are being taken, the city isn’t citing anyone, he said. To date, no fines have been assessed.

"This is about meeting people where they are and making progress," Arnold said.

Berkeley Councilman Brent Blackaby, who represents the Ember neighborhood east of Grizzly Peak, said the city will reconvene its Ember working group to review the state law.

He’s open to looking at differences, he said. But broad changes are unlikely.

The state, said Blackaby, "was trying to find a floor, not a ceiling," and emphasized flexibility for local jurisdictions: "We still have the same risks we still have the same topography."

He also said lessons from city inspections are already being learned, including from case-by-case exceptions. This could lead to some tweaks to the city's rules.

Meanwhile, Ehrenkrantz said the response to the Zone 0 art show has been good, and pieces are selling.

Blackaby said he bought some colorful mosaic birds for his yard, and Thouati said he hadn't really planned to purchase art, but "went to the show and fell in love with a piece." Mosaic panels.

Zone 0 has brought loss from removing plants, sometimes beloved and tended for years. But for some people, filling a spot with art may take away some of the sting.

The ACCI show could be "the first of many," said ceramicist Scheid. "The timing is right."

A CHP helicopter hovered over Fourth Street on Friday as authorities briefly searched Berkeley for an armed robbery suspect.

They soon determined they were following the wrong car and called off the search.

Readers alerted The Scanner about the helicopter over Fourth Street near University Avenue shortly before 5 p.m.

According to CHP Oakland, the agency initially got a call about someone who had brandished a weapon in a vehicle on the freeway.

Authorities believed the driver may have exited the freeway onto Berkeley streets.

As CHP officers were responding, they were notified that the same vehicle may have been tied to an Oakland robbery earlier in the day.

Berkeley officers were advised of the CHP response and conducted an area check around Fourth Street.

A CHP helicopter was asked to help in the search, CHP Oakland said.

Authorities ultimately called off the search when they determined that "it wasn't the right vehicle," the CHP said.

The alert, for a vehicle linked to a domestic violence and firearm case from January, initially came in from Grizzly Peak Boulevard shortly before 4 p.m.

Berkeley police said they found the wanted driver in the 1600 block of Solano Avenue a few minutes later.

When police arrested the driver, Carvaan Williams, they found a loaded gun in his waistband, police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.

The gun had an extended magazine and a switch that allowed it to fire automatically, classifying it as a machine gun, police said.

Williams, 21, of Berkeley was arrested on suspicion of several gun crimes, according to booking records.

The January case stemmed from a 911 call on Ellis Street at 3 p.m. Jan. 2. That day, police arrested Williams on suspicion of domestic violence and multiple gun crimes.

At the time, the district attorney's office sent the case back to Berkeley police for more investigation.

Carvaan Williams. BPD

After police found Williams' DNA on a gun seized in January, they secured a warrant for his arrest, authorities said. That warrant ultimately led to this week's Flock alert.

On Thursday, the Alameda County district attorney's office charged Williams with six felonies spanning both cases.

Charges included two counts of possession of a machine gun as well as allegations that the guns were unregistered, according to charging papers.

Bail was initially set at $370,000 in the two cases, but no amount was listed as of publication time.

Williams is scheduled for arraignment Friday at Wiley Manuel Courthouse.

Earlier this week, a local resident was able to contain the goat in her yard near Claremont Avenue and Hillcrest Road. That allowed BACS to collect the animal and take her to the animal shelter.

"She appeared to be in overall good condition, with only a small abscess near her jaw. Her owner picked her up this afternoon and said she had been missing for over a week."

Original story: A lost goat that has been roaming Berkeley streets for at least a week is now safe at the municipal animal shelter.

But authorities are still working to reunite her with her owner.

Berkeley Animal Care Services picked up the goat Tuesday from Hillcrest Court near Claremont Avenue.

She now has her own profile on 24Petconnect, a website for helping owners find lost animals.

"I am a female, black and brown Goat," the page reads.

The goat is also featured on the shelter's Instagram page, where she's already picking up fans.

The post had been liked 88 times in the first hour.

The Scanner has asked the city for more details and will continue to follow the story.

Correction: The city picked up the goat Tuesday, not Thursday. This story has been fixed.

"No human rabies cases have been identified" — but the city is warning the public to take precautions.

• Do not touch or handle bats
• Wash for 15 minutes with soap and water if bitten or scratched by any mammal
• Do not release or dispose of any bat found indoors
• Keep pets' rabies vaccinations current
• Bat-proof your home by sealing gaps and openings

In June, Alameda County also confirmed rabies in an indoor cat in Pleasanton. The cat may have been exposed to the virus by a bat on a balcony, county health officials said.

Berkeley and Alameda County public health officers have now issued alerts to let doctors, hospitals and veterinarians know about the uptick.

Rabies can be treated when care is sought early but is "nearly always fatal once symptoms appear," the city said in a recent announcement, which includes more detailed safety information.

In a health update for providers in mid-August, Berkeley health officials said rabies treatment can be warranted even without a bite or scratch in the following cases:

• A sleeping person wakes to find a bat in their room
• A bat is found in a room with an unattended child, someone with cognitive impairment or an intoxicated person
• "Any situation where there is a reasonable probability that unrecognized direct contact with a bat may have occurred"

Early rabies symptoms "may be very similar to those of the flu and may last for days," according to the Mayo Clinic.

The Daily Californian was the first news outlet to report on this subject.

The lawsuit comes as no surprise given the staunch neighborhood opposition evident during the July 28 Berkeley City Council meeting where the vote took place.

That night, more than 120 people turned out in person or called in via Zoom to comment on the bike lanes. They were evenly split for and against.

But while North Berkeley residents were certainly among the supporters, the "no" camp seemed to be more heavily drawn from the immediate neighborhood, including merchants in the Hopkins commercial district.

The owners of some of those businesses, Monterey Fish Market and Hopkins Launderette, are among the plaintiffs, along with Friends of Hopkins Street, a neighborhood group with more than 770 members, according to the Aug. 28 filing.

The other named plaintiff is a legally blind senior and North Berkeley resident of several decades who says he and others like him would be "adversely affected" if the bike lanes are built.

The plaintiffs say the Hopkins bike lanes would violate the city's 2026 Bicycle Plan and run contrary to Measure FF, a parcel tax to improve streets and sidewalks.

They also argue that the plan violates CEQA and "was not subject to any type of study to determine whether it would constitute a dangerous condition of public property."

And they claim it would limit access to "the many seniors and disabled individuals who live on or near Hopkins Street."

The plan calls for the removal of an estimated 145 of 274 parking spaces on Hopkins Street, including many in the busy commercial corridor.

Council members ultimately voted 7-2 for the bike lane plan, with Brent Blackaby (Berkeley Hills) and Shoshana O'Keefe (who represents the North Berkeley district where most of the project is located) in opposition.

" This is absolutely madness," O'Keefe said that night shortly before the vote. "Please do not force this expensive, disruptive, unwanted plan on District 5. We do not want it, and there are other alternatives."

The city of Berkeley did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment. It generally does not comment on ongoing litigation.

In a brief statement, bike advocacy group Walk Bike Berkeley called the lawsuit "groundless."

"We’re confident that safety improvements on Hopkins will move forward despite this lawsuit," the group said. "It’s unfortunate that the city will now need to dedicate its limited resources to defend the project."

According to Walk Bike Berkeley, the council vote was "consistent with Berkeley’s transportation plans and policies and will make the street safer and more accessible for people of all ages and abilities."

During the July council meeting, supporters of the Hopkins plan repeatedly emphasized that protected bike lanes have been found to be safer for all road users and are associated with either improved or neutral economic conditions — not the economic fallout predicted by opponents.

Friends of Hopkins is asking the court to set aside the project approval and issue an injunction to block further action.

The first hearing in the case is set for Nov. 10.

Read the full complaint.

Stay tuned for ongoing coverage.

A runaway goat has roamed Berkeley for days, eluding residents, animal control and, most recently, police.

Reports began Friday on Nextdoor after a man spotted a "big old black goat" on Campus Drive near UC Berkeley at 2:30 p.m.

The goat had been "wandering the hills for a while," he wrote.

"Berkeley animal control came but he had already wandered off. Animal control will come if you call, but suggested that if you have a chance to safely enclose him somewhere, it would help, because he’ll always be gone by the time they arrive."

Berkeley goat has been found. But where is her owner?

Berkeley Animal Care Services picked up the goat Thursday from Hillcrest Court near Claremont Avenue.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

"Of course they know this is a silly request, but someone might figure out something," he continued. "Also give him some water."

Sightings picked up this week.

"Is this your goat? Spotted at Dana & Woolsey on Monday," one local resident wrote at about 8:50 a.m., sharing a photograph of the mostly black goat with white markings sizing her up from the sidewalk.

Another person found security footage of the goat making its way up Woolsey Street.

"I have captured coyotes, deer and horseback riders," she told The Scanner. "This is our first goat."

Dozens of residents have now shared sightings and concerns about the goat on Nextdoor.

"He was seen in Elmwood at 8am and 8.30am yesterday. He appeared stressed, anxious crossing the road, and he was running mostly — then he'd stop nervously like he was assessing danger ahead," one person wrote.

"Probably one that got loose when they were in Tilden and a fence came down allowing them to wander off," wrote another. "I guess this one made a successful escape but I bet it is lonely."

Berkeley police said they got multiple calls about the goat Monday in the Claremont-Elmwood neighborhood.

BPD sent officers to search for it and initially found the goat on Tunnel Road.

But when they tried to corral it, the goat made its escape through someone's backyard.

"They didn't have a fence so it kept going," police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.