View the RCD Chipper Program Flyer.
Introduction
Beginning in 2008, five large wildfires burned nearly 14,000 acres and destroyed 233 structures in Santa Cruz County. This devastation warned residents of their communities’ vulnerability to catastrophic wildfire. Local topography and fuels make the County subject to periodic wildfires. Combined with 100 years of effective fire suppression, these conditions have led to uncharacteristically high fuel loads.
The RCD has a long history of collaborating with local community and agency stakeholders to provide County residents with educational and cost share assistance to reduce wildfire threat in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas of the County.
The RCD Chipper Program offers free wildfire fuel load reduction service in Santa Cruz County’s high fire risk WUI neighborhoods. The RCD Chipper Program provides grant funded chipping services to assist residents in complying with State and County defensible space regulations. Program information and applications are available through the Chipper Program Flyer and RCD Program Specialist Bryan Frueh.
The RCD diligently promotes wildfire awareness and prevention by creating and distributing educational outreach materials to County residents and partner agencies. These resources, including the Living with Fire in Santa Cruz County Guide, RCD Chipper Program Flyer, Defensible Space Trifold and Firescaping with Appropriate Plant Lists, are available on the www.rcdsantacruz.org website. The RCD also works with partner organizations to sponsor workshops to provide information and cost share assistance for wildfire prevention and recovery strategies regarding fuel hazards, erosion control, soil health and native plant recovery.
Additional fire prevention resources are available in the resources section.