Dead vegetation can act as fuel during a fire, which can cause it to spread even quicker.
The San Luis Obispo County Fire Safe Council, in partnership with local fire departments and the California Climate Investments Program, will host free chipping events across the county. This was made possible through a grant from the California Climate Initiative.
Greg Alex, Community Consultant for the Fire Safe Council, said there are 50 people in Cambria and 70 people in Los Osos already signed up.
In order to qualify, people need to live in the very high, high or moderate zones of the fire hazard severity zone. You can click here to see if your home qualifies.
People can then sign up online through the Fire Safe SLO website. Those sign-ups will remain in place for the duration of the program and residents will be notified anytime there is a chipping event in their area.
“I think the wildfire is the biggest issue, really. I just wasn’t thinking about that, but even just the weeds that are coming up, cause they dry out, they get all brown. Even in this field over here, stuff gets brown and you get something started, it can get close to your house real quick. Especially you have to have that perimeter around your house,” said Los Osos resident Paul Reitz.
Vegetation accepted in the chipping program needs to be clean and untreated and cannot include any lumber, trash, or palms.
Branches can be up to 8 inches in diameter and piles cannot be larger than 20 feet long by 4 feet high and 4 feet deep.
Alex said that once the branches are processed, the chips go to different places, such as green waste recycling or are donated to local ranchers so they can use them as mulch in their crops.
"If everyone in the neighborhood is doing it and clearing the vegetation around their homes, it makes that whole community safer, so that’s our goal to make the whole county safer,” Alex said.
Chipping will begin on Thursday, October 16 in Cambria and again on Tuesday, October 21 in Los Osos.
