In fire prone San Diego County, creating and maintaining defensible space around residences is critically important for life and property safety. In certain areas designated as a high wildfire hazard, defensible space is legally required.
The Fire Safe Council of San Diego County has multiple programs which assist residents in creating defensible space around their homes. These programs are offered to homeowners at no cost through funding from agency, foundation, and corporate grants. Maintaining the legally-required 100 feet of defensible space around their property, and complying with local weed abatement ordinances can be a challenge for some homeowners. Once they’ve taken the necessary steps to protect their property by thinning and trimming brush, they are often left with large piles of dry vegetation, which can themselves become a fire hazard.
Several Escondido residents have taken advantage of a valuable, but perhaps little-known, “No-Cost Chipping” program created by the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County. The program is offered for residents in high-fire risk properties in San Diego County. Once homeowners have done the hard work of preparing the space, the Fire Safe Council’s contractors come out and chip the cleared vegetation for them, free of charge. The chips are left with the homeowner and can be used as a weed suppressing mulch as long as it’s maintained at a depth of less than 3 inches.
Recently, a local Escondido resident whose home is in a high fire zone participated in the no-cost chipping program. The homeowner had multiple dead trees and hazardous brush piles located on his property. After cutting the trees and stacking the brush he contacted The Fire Safe Council of San Diego County. The Fire Safe Council spent multiple days at his residence chipping a high volume of brush, and creating valuable weed suppressing mulch. The resident was so amazed and grateful that these programs were available to assist him.
Chief Rick Vogt of the Escondido Fire Department encourages all residents who are eligible, and can benefit, from this free service to
participate. He added, “Keeping your property clear of flammable debris is imperative to keep our community safe in the case of a wildfire.”
Detailed information and program guidelines are available on the Fire Safe Council’s website at https://firesafesdcounty.org/no-cost-chipping/. If you do not have internet access, you may call them at 619-562-0096.
Photos courtesy of the Escondido Fire Prevention team.
