A firework display lights the night sky over Marina Bay Park during a city of Richmond Fourth of July celebration in 2022. Courtesy: City of Richmond

Officials are closing roads and attractions in the Berkeley Hills for the Fourth of July holiday this weekend, and reminding people that all fireworks remain banned in the city, as well as in Oakland in East Bay parks.

“Explosives, sparklers, and other fireworks pose particular risks in the hills, where dry plants and shrubs can fuel fast-spreading fires,” reads a statement on the city website.

The street closures affect Grizzly Peak Boulevard (from Centennial Drive to Skyline Boulevard), Panoramic Way, and Prospect Street. They start at 4 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, and remain in place until 5 a.m. on Sunday, July 5. Residents, and ride-share and delivery vehicles, will be allowed access. All roadside turnouts will be closed. 

Also closed on July 4 are the Lawrence Hall of Science, the UC Botanical Garden, the Tilden Steam Train and all UC Berkeley campus hiking trails. 

Access will be limited almost exclusively to residents traveling by car, bicycle, or on foot, as well as to ride-share and delivery vehicles. These road users will have access to stopping along Grizzly Peak Boulevard, but all roadside turnouts will be closed to the public.

Checkpoints will be set up at several intersections around Grizzly Peak Boulevard and people who can’t prove they live in the area will be turned away. Through traffic will be stopped at:

Centennial Drive, between Stadium Rim Way and Grizzly Peak Boulevard;

Claremont Avenue, Fish Ranch Road, and Grizzly Peak Boulevard;

Lomas Cantadas and Grizzly Peak Boulevard;

South Park and Grizzly Peak Boulevard;

Skyline Boulevard and Grizzly Peak Boulevard

Read the city’s full statement about fireworks and road closures

The city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley, the city of Oakland, the East Bay Regional Park District, and Alameda County are coordinating on the road closures.

Berkeley officials say people who choose to use fireworks despite the ban could be liable for fires, injuries and property destroyed by their action. Residents can call the Berkeley Police Department’s non-emergency dispatch at 510-981-5900, to report any firework use.

Berkeley has not put on a fireworks display at the Marina since 2019, but there will be many events marking Fourth of July across the Bay Area this year, in celebration of the country’s 250th birthday, including a free fireworks display on the Golden Gate Bridge, which may be visible from the Berkeley Hills and Cesar Chavez Park. As of Tuesday, the National Weather Service predicted the evening of the Fourth of July will be mostly cloudy.

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