Organize a Chipper Day

Create better defensible space around homes in your neighborhood

Community Chipper Days are FREE and available year-round! Chipper days allow neighborhood residents to create and maintain defensible space around their homes, and along roadsides necessary for ingress and egress into and out of the neighborhood.

How it works:

Chipper Days can be organized in one of two ways:

1. By leaders in your community, usually your local Neighborhood Fire Safe Council. This is the best way to get a day organized quickly and ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible. Directions for community organizers are provided below.

Or 2. Sign onto our waitlist as an individual and wait until enough other people in your area also sign un. We can only schedule a Chipper Day when there is enough work for our crew in the same general area. We require a minimum of 5 residents (ideally more!) and at least 10 (up to 30) compliant piles per Chipper Day. Each resident can have up to 5 compliant piles.

A Chipper Day is more likely to happen if you encourage others to also get onto the waitlist. Once the waitlist has enough people in the same area, you will receive an email notice with a date for the Chipper Day. You must then reply to confirm whether you want be included that day. Those who confirm a reservation (and make compliant piles – see our Brush Pile Guidelines below) will receive free chipping service on that day.

If you cannot register online, you may contact our office for assistance at (707) 462-3662 or admin@firesafemendocino.org

Once a day is set for your area:

You build MCFSC-compliant chipper piles, ideally just before the Chipper Day (see guidelines below, or download the Guidelines pdf). Please DO NOT make any piles before you have a confirmed reservation.
MCFSC will send a crew to come and chip the piles FREE! Services are available year-round.
Note: Hauling chips off-site is usually not possible; we may only be able to provide chipping if we can broadcast or pile chips on the spot or at a prearranged nearby location. Please tell us at the time you sign up if you cannot accept chips on-site.

For community organized Chipper Days coordinators must:

1. Contact our office to set a date at (707) 462-3662 or admin@firesafemendocino.org

2. Make a list of all participants, and make sure all participants are signed onto our online waitlist.

3. Make sure all participants know the rules for making chipper piles

4. Let us know the number of piles our crew can expect, so that they can plan how much time will be needed. Piles must be about 5’ x 5’x 10′ in size.

5. Tell us any other necessary information such as gate codes, best routes to take, any accessibility issues for large equipment, etc.

Join the Waitlist

Sign up to let us know you would like to be included in a future Chipper Day in your area. Then get your neighbors to sign up until there are enough to schedule a Chipper Day.

Download the Brush Pile Guidelines

Read and print our Chipper Day guidelines to make sure your piles are in compliance and ready for our crews to chip.

Chipper Day Schedules

Current Schedule

Call 707-462-3662 to schedule a Chipper Day in your neighborhood.

Regular Chipper Days

To qualify, your area must be registered with MCFSC and cover a minimum of 5 properties with 10 piles minimum (up to 30 piles) per Chipper Day. Call to set up your NFSC or Firewise community to schedule regular chipping.

1st Monday of each month: Ridgewood FSC
2nd Monday of each month: Sherwood FSC
4th Thursday of each month: Navarro FSC