Urban Forestry for a FireWise Community

David Yegge
Fuel Reduction Specialist

The Valley-wide chipping program, still offered free of charge but now offered on-demand, has been underway since the beginning of the month—and, already, the toll-free chipping hotline at 877-771-CHIP has received over 650 requests for service. Of these, over 570 requests have been processed (as of June 23), meaning chipper crews have made curbside stops to pick up tree limbs and dead vegetation and chip it into mulch. The Valley’s fire agencies—Big Bear Lake and Big Bear City Fire Departments and San Bernardino County Fire—tell KBHR that the remaining requests will be completed within a few days. To participate in the free chipping program, once defensible space has been cleared from your property, call 877-771-CHIP to leave your address for the chipping crews which, this year, are comprised of local contractors. To allow for this free service to continue, fire agencies ask that you log your hours spent creating defensible space on the website thinisin.org—to date, 884 hours have been logged by the community, which will assist in future grant funding efforts for Big Bear. As you leave your curbside piles for the chipping crews, fire agencies remind that construction debris, root balls, leaves and pine needles and cut lumber are not accepted.

HUFI Management

The Health Urban Forest Initiative (HUFI) is a local program to reduce the fire danger within the community from primarily vegatation fires, which start in the community or in the surrounding National Forest; and increase the health and biodiversity of our "urban forest".

The city manages the Neighborhood Chipper Program. This program provides a cost efficiient way to dispose of excess branches, limbs and small trees from properties wihin the City of Big Bear Lake. This is accomplished by conducting curbside chipping service for property owners. The Public Works Department manages these services by providing personnel and oversite.

Free Chipping Programs Underway; Firewise Home to Be Featured on July 18 Xeriscape Tour

Both Big Bear Lake and Big Bear City have earned the distinction of being named Firewise USA communities, an honor held by less than 500 cities and towns throughout the country. Residents can contribute to this fire-safe effort by clearing defensible space and taking advantage of free neighborhood curbside chipping of trimmed trees and dead vegetation. At present, the Big Bear City Fire Department is working their way through Fawnskin, before chipping in East Valley neighborhoods starts next week. Residents of Big Bear City, the North Shore, Shay Meadow area, Erwin Lake, Meadowbrook Estates and Lake Williams should have their chipping piles curbside by Monday, July 13. As of August 3, Bear City Fire will be chipping in the upper Moonridge area. For those in lower Moonridge, in neighborhoods within the City of Big Bear Lake, and all others on the south shore west of Division, the chipping program is on-demand; those who live in Big Bear Lake can call the chipper request line at 909/752-2805. The Big Bear Lake Fire Department, in partnership with the Sierra Club Big Bear Group, also offers a Firewise Planting Guide, which is specific to our community and available online at ThinIsIn.org. The Sierra Club will also offer free information on native and drought-tolerant plants when, on July 18, they host the 7th annual Xeriscape Garden Tour which, this year, will also feature a Firewise home. The free, self-guided xeriscape tour launches from Eminger’s Mountain Nursery (at 41223 Big Bear Boulevard, across from Denny’s in Big Bear Lake); attendees can pick up a tour map between 9am and noon, and then enjoy as many as eight homes featuring xeriscape gardens. Courtesy of KBHR 93.3 FM

A property before being cleared.

A property after being cleared.