Neighborhood Chipping Program for Fire-Prone Communities in San Mateo County

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LINK. The Chipper Program through Fire Safe San Mateo is a collaborative effort between Woodside Fire Protection District, CAL FIRE, Fire Safe San Mateo and South Skyline Fire Safe Council. The program provides no-cost chipping to select neighborhoods to assist homeowners in maintaining defensible space. Funds for this program are grant and local funding by program partners.

The FIRE SAFE San Mateo County chipping program is based on a “you cut, we chip” model. Home owners are responsible for cutting, gathering and piling vegetation from around their homes to a roadside location. FIRE SAFE San Mateo County will provide chipping crews who visit neighborhood-by-neighborhood to chip vegetation either back on site or for removal.

GUIDELINES

To keep the program running smoothly and safely, there a few easy tips for homeowners participating in this program.

Removing vegetation: Give yourself a few weekends to do vegetation maintenance around your yard.
Piling Vegetation: For this program, homeowners need to pile vegetation in a 10 ft wide, 10 ft long and 5 ft tall pile.
Chipping Schedule: Chipping is scheduled street by street for Spring and Fall. See below for details on when the chipper visits your neighborhood. Make sure to give yourself enough time to cut and pile your vegetation.

 

FIRE SAFE San Mateo County provides free chipping service for San Mateo County residents. Currently, this program is only for select neighborhoods with high fire severity. Selected neighborhoods include El Granada, Montara, and Butano Canyon.
This program supports residents in maintaining 100 ft Defensible Space (https://firesafesanmateo.org/resources/defensible-space) around their home.
This program is in partnership with Woodside Fire Protection District, San Mateo Resource Conservation District and South Skyline Fire Safe Council, and is thanks to California Fire Safe Council Clearinghouse Grant and San Mateo County Measure K funding.Fill out this form to request a chipping crew at your home on the Free Chipping days May 28th through June 24th. Your application must be submitted and pile prepared before your selected community chipping day. See chipping do’s and dont’s (https://firesafesanmateo.org/projects/chipper-program) before completing this form.

If you wish to have host a chipping day for your community, please fill out the form below and we will get back to you on possible days and available funding.

If you have questions or comments, please call (650) 712-7765 or email us at [email protected]

 

 

Coastside Buzz
Author: Coastside Buzz

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