Brush Chipping and Removal Program Registration Page

How to Register:

Please reserve your chipping services by clicking the link below, or return the chipping card that you should have received in the mail, by the dates specified below and on the card. The registration link below may be used to reserve your regular, twice a year service or for extra, high-volume services (a brush pile that would fill more than four (4) green bins).

Click here to reserve your spot!

April Chipping will take place between April 10 and April 21, 2023. This two-week service window is required due to the logistics required for planning chipping routes and the high volume of properties served. We ask that all residents have their brush piles ready by the specified deadlines (April 9, 2023), regardless of when the chipping actually occurs, for LAHCFD to be able to provide this no-cost service to all participants in a timely and efficient manner. You can select that chips be left on your property or hauled away. If you opt to keep the chips, to comply with safety measures, you may only keep debris chipped from your property. YOUR NAME, EMAIL, PHONE, ADDRESS, SIGNATURE must be submitted on the online authorization form or included on the mailed CARD to receive Services.

Please use the notes section of the registration card or the online registration process to provide relevant information that can assist us in providing chipping services (i.e., gates must be unlocked; driveway is difficult to find/maneuver; pile locations; etc.). We will try to accommodate resident requests and will reach out to you directly to coordinate.

April Brush Chipping Dates & Deadlines

The following Terms, Conditions and Service Requirements are required for the program to work effectively and safely:

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1. All cut brush must be stacked within 10-feet of your driveway entrance to the roadway on a level area by the dates specified on the enclosed card or as otherwise directed by FireSafe Council and/or the District. Stack piles with the cut ends facing the driveway or roadway. For safety, do not stockpile cut brush within 10 feet of public or private roads.
2. The only items that will be chipped are tree limbs and cut brush. Any tree or brush limb that is more than 4-inches in diameter cannot be chipped.
3. To receive Services, please be sure that these items are not in or among the cut brush piles:
   1. No wood larger than 4-inches diameter, and no items of treated wood or lumber
   2. No lawn trimmings or construction debris, sod, yucca, ice plant, bamboo, stumps, pampas grass, palm fronds, cactus, rock, dirt, and leaves without branches
   3. NO POISON OAK
4. To receive Services, resident must cooperate, be respectful and maintain appropriate interactions at all times to personnel and contractors acting on behalf of the Fire District and FireSafe Council.
5. Complete and SEND this online form acknowledging the Terms, Conditions and Service Requirements stated in this form and the authorization to enter onto your property, and to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Fire District, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council and their related parties. However, the defense, indemnity, and hold harmless requirement shall not apply to the District/Fire Safe Council and their related parties’ sole negligence and/or willful misconduct arising out of the Services provided.

Services will not be performed at properties that fail to follow all Terms, Conditions, and Service Requirements and/or do not provide all requested information. 

We look forward to assisting you with your property hardening and property hygiene efforts. If you have any questions, please contact the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council at 408-975-9591 or the Los Altos Hills County Fire District at 650-949-1044 or visit us online at https://www.lahcfd.org/programs-for-residents/dsbc-program/

NOTICE TO RESIDENTS

November 28, 2022; Defensible Space Brush Chipping and Debris Removal (DSBC) Program Services: to participate in the DSBC Program Services, all cut brush must be stacked within 10 feet of your driveway entrance to the roadway or 10 feet from public or private roadways on a level area so that crews can inspect, measure and chip the piles for chipping and debris removal services.

Thank you in advance for your assistance to have brush piles ready and available for inspection and chipping services by April 9, 2023.

Please also provide cooperative, respectful and appropriate interactions with all personnel who are conducting services on behalf of the District and FireSafe Council.  We appreciate personnel receiving thanks and courteous treatment from residents.  If you have any questions or comments about the services provided, please contact us at www.lahcfd.org or call the Los Altos Hills County Fire District at 650-949-1044.

We look forward to providing you with these no-cost DSBC Program Services to make your home and property more defensible against a wildland fire by removing hazardous brush and small tree limbs.

About the Program

In the interest of fire prevention, life safety, and property protection, the Los Altos Hills County Fire District (“Fire District”) encourages residents to create defensible space around structures on their property and reduce fire fuels by utilizing techniques of Shelter in Yard, property hygiene, and property and structure hardening.

In cooperation with Santa Clara County FireSafe Council, the Fire District is pleased to offer the Brush Chipping and Removal Program to chip and remove debris associated with residents’ fire fuel reduction activities. Residents may use the Program for chipping and removing the branches, limbs, and brush associated with property hygiene activities from their property. The Program services (“Services”) are provided to District residents at no cost.  Tree limbs, branches, and brush to be removed shall be stacked in accordance with Fire District requirements, as stated below.

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Fire Science Guidelines – Residents are encouraged to make their homes more defensible against a wildland fire by removing hazardous brush, tree limbs, and vegetation.  Fire science guidelines recommend clearing or pruning flammable vegetation to create defensible space from 0-100-feet from structures and to create a zero brush, tree limb, or vegetation zone from 0-5-feet from the structure. Use non-combustible materials such as rock, stone pavers, cement, bare earth, gravel, or sand within the 0-5-feet zone. Use of mulch or chips within the 0-5-feet zone is not recommended. Tree limbs should be cut that are within 10-feet of chimneys and trees that are 18-feet or taller should be limbed a minimum of 6-feet above the ground. Guidelines for creating defensible space are found here: https://sccfiresafe.org/prepare/creating-defensible-space/

Thank you for supporting fire safety efforts,

Los Altos Hills County Fire District