Chipper Days

With the increasing  potential for wildfires in Marin County, residents are being encouraged to take every measure possible to avoid destruction of life and property.  Fire Safe Marin advises clearing brush from 30-100 feet of your house if possible. The Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA) and the Town of Fairfax has schedules chipper days throughout the year to offer residents options to remove and dispose of vegetation debris from their property.

Chipper Days are back in 2022!

The Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA) will once again sponsor the Curbside Chipper Day Program (also known as “Chipper Days”) in 2022. The Program will run from May 16 – October 28, 2022 and each neighborhood will have two separate chipper events.

As Marin residents have mentioned in the past, the challenge in maintaining a fire-resistant property is not cutting the low hanging branches or gathering the dead plants. The challenge is determining how to dispose of this hazardous vegetation once all the work is done. The Curbside Chipper Program addresses this challenge by providing residents with two opportunities every year to have a portion of their vegetation removed at no cost quickly and easily.

If you are interested in participating, please visit https://www.chipperday.com/marin to review program rules/guidelines and to make a reservation.

Important Notes

  • Reservations are required to participate. You can make a reservation starting on March 15th by visiting the website and inserting your address into the search field.
  • Our program is in high demand. If you have a reservation and no longer wish to participate, please cancel your reservation as soon as possible but no later than Wednesday of the week preceding your event. Failing to cancel in a timely manner costs the county money and prevents us from giving your reservation to someone on the waitlist. Thank you for your cooperation!
  • In order for Chipper Days to succeed, it is imperative that all participants abide by the rules and guidelines of the program. Participants who fail to abide by the Program rules and guidelines run the risk of being prohibited from taking part in future Chipper Day events.

New for the 2022 season

  • Based on participant feedback, the pile size limit in 2022 has been increased to 20 feet x 4 feet x 4 feet. Please note that any portion of a pile greater than 20’x4’x4’ may be left behind by our crew and will become the resident’s responsibility to remove.
  • To participate in the program, you MUST book a reservation no later than the Wednesday preceding the week of your neighborhood’s scheduled service.

What CAN go in the chipper

• Tree limbs up to 4 inches in diameter and 6 feet in length

• Woody bushes, including French and Scotch broom (no roots with dirt)

 

What CANNOT go in the chipper (for safety of the workers)

• Poison ivy, Bamboo, palm fronds, firewood

• Stones, lumber, construcLon materials

• Metal, glass, furniture

• Leaves and regular yard waste and soil (on roots)

Vegetation Management Grant

The Town of Fairfax has successfully wrapped up the vegetation management grant funding for this year.  We have awarded $25,000 to 33 applicants all in an effort to reduce our risk of wildfires and to protect our community. Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority has plans to offer a similar program, please visit www.marinwildfire.org to obtain information about future grants from the Marin Wildfire Protection Authority.

Results of 2020 Chipper Days 

The Town held six “Chipper Day” events in 2020. All six Chipper Days were targeted for neighborhoods that are designated Firewise communities. These six Chipper Day events included door-to-door pick-up of brush/cuttings in the Cascade, Manor Hill, and Deer Park neighborhoods. They were conducted over three weekends in June & July of this year. As always, the events were open to residents from any Fairfax neighborhood. This year, there were fewer drop offs per event, most likely due to COVID-19 precautions.
The Town collected over 63 tons of brush/cuttings from 321 participating households this year, for a total cost of approximately $65,000. Last year, the Town collected 86 tons.
Additionally, this year, Fire Safe Marin supplemented the chipper days offered in Fairfax in July and August with funding from the newly created Marin Wildfire Protection Agency (MWPA).
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