In an effort to help you reduce wildfire danger around your home, Mill Valley Fire Department will have a chipper machine and a crew working in several neighborhoods from July 28, 2014 to August 1, 2014.
The following streets are scheduled for the chipper program from July 28 – August 1:
- Cascade Drive
- Cornelia Avenue
- Cornwall Street
- Elma Street
- Eugene Street
- Evelyn Avenue
- Josephine Street
- Laurel Street
- Lovell Avenue
- Throckmorton Avenue
If you live in one of these neighborhoods, you should have received notice already. Please have all vegetation stacked along your street no later than July 28, 2014.
The free Mill Valley Chipper Program seeks to encourage residents to reduce flammable vegetation and improve defensible space around your home.
Here’s how it works: In the days preceding the Chipper Days noted above, residents must cut and remove the dangerous fire fuels from around your home and haul it to the curb. Crews will dispose of the debris.
- In preparing for your scheduled chipper day:
- Stack all brush with trunks facing the same way off the roadway.
- The chipper cannot take raked duff, pine needles or grass.
- Only vegetation is allowed – no other items will be picked up.
- A maximum of 9″ diameter rounds can be chipped.
Did you know? You are legally required to remove flammable vegetation from a minimum of 30 feet and up to 100 feet on all sides of your home depending on fire risk.
How do you calculate the correct distance from your home? Mill Valley firefighters are available to answer your questions, provide useful resources, and can visit your property for an assessment.
Guided by its Core Values to preserve health and safety and the community’s high quality of life, the Mill Valley City Council established emergency preparedness with a focus on fire prevention as one of its Key Issues. The Chipper Program is just one of the many components of the City’s Vegetation Management Program, which seeks to reduce the fire-fueling vegetation that surrounds your home and improve access for emergency vehicles, particularly on Mill Valley’s narrow, winding streets.
For more information contact: Scott Barnes, Battalion Chief, Mill Valley Fire Department at sbarnes@cityofmillvalley.org or 415-389-4139.
For more information on the City of Mill Valley’s Vegetation Management Program and the array of programs and services available to help you keep your home safe, call them at 415-721-4367 or visit www.cityofmillvalley.org/readyor www.firesafemarin.org.
