Spring Chipper Days

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE ON 4/19!

The overall objective of Chipper Days is to reduce the impact of future wildfires on our community. Mirrormont is an official Firewise Community and the MCA offers Chipper Days annually. Typically, it is on a first-come/first-served basis upon receipt of a $20 co-pay for MCA members to have wood piles chipped. To become an MCA member, see https://mirrormont.org/shop/  Residents are usually notified about a month prior to the scheduled event to give sufficient time to prepare. More details about preparing for the event will be emailed to you at that time.

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To Be Eligible:  

1. You must be up to date with your 2021 MCA dues.

If you have any other questions about your 2021 membership status, email Lana Bear at events@mirrormont.org.

2. You must have an easily visible street address sign by the side of your driveway (a reflective, two-sided MCA-sponsored signpost — or your own sign). For info on MCA signposts, see https://mirrormont.org/address-signposts-help-others-find-us/

3. TRACK YOUR HOURS! Funding and eligibility is based on hours worked, so please keep track of any hours worked in your yard or at the park. You will be asked to report these after Chipper Days.

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Registration and co-pay are required once the event is announced. To make the project manageable and within MCA resources, we need to limit the number of participants to a maximum of 60 and limit the size of piles. Your $20 co‑pay and MCA dues cover chipping of a single pile of branches. Participants may have a second pile; however, they would need to submit an additional $20 co-pay. This is at least a $225 value. You may purchase your co-pay here. 

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Firewise your property: Clear dead brush and dry branches from the forest floor. Prune shrubs and limb-up trees to remove ladder fuels and dead material. Prune trees 6’—10’ from ground (but leave at least ½ the tree with live limbs). Pruning of trees and shrubs creates mini fuel breaks. See King County Firewise Brochure and the Resources listed below.

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Prepare your pile of branches (complete by 4/23):

• Stack branches by the side of a Mirrormont road with the cut (fattest) ends facing in one direction.
• Piles can be up to 4-ft. high x 8-ft. wide (cut ends out) x 10-ft. deep. Branches must be less than 10-ft. long and less than 6” in diameter. No rope, nails, metal, rocks, plastic, or lumber. If your pile is larger than this you'll need to purchase a second co-pay.
• The weekend prior to the event, the MCA will email a ‘Flow Number-House Number’ for you to print out and post on your pile. Put the Flow Number—House Number print-out with “Chips YES/NO” notice in a Ziploc bag to protect it from rain and post it on your pile. Identify where you want chips placed with tarp or other obvious signage. It must be close to a Mirrormont road where the chipper truck can dump. (post by 4/25)

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Report hours worked to events@mirrormont.org (complete by 4/30)

Report number of hours worked trimming, cleaning-up, and moving your piles to the roadway (either at your home or the park!). Our continued designation as a Firewise community and eligibility for grants is based in part on volunteer hours that go toward making our community “Firewise” and safer. This is important!

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Resources: 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO PREPARE FOR MCA FIREWISE CHIPPER DAYS SPRING 2021

Before April 25th, clear dead brush and dry branches from the forest floor. Prune shrubs and limb-up trees to remove ladder fuels and dead material. Prune trees 6’—10’ from ground (but leave at least ½ the tree with live limbs). Pruning of trees and shrubs creates mini fuel breaks. See King County Firewise Brochure.  When removing branches, be sure to leave the “branch collar” intact.

1. See the link on Tree Pruning for helpful information. The following links also provide helpful information on pruning, tree maintenance, and fire resistant landscaping:

a. Plant Amnesty at http://www.plantamnesty.org.

There are YouTube pruning videos under Education.

Provides a referral service for arborists under Services.

b. Wildlife snags: Those not-so-attractive looking trees in your yard may actually look extremely attractive to our wildlife neighbors. Yep! Unless a safety hazard, standing dead or dying trees are called “snags” and they provide extremely important habitat for more than 100 species of birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians in Washington state. In fact, standing dead trees are often called “wildlife trees” because animals such as northern flickers, brown creepers, bats, and squirrels use them for nesting, roosting, shelter, storage, denning and foraging/feeding. https://wdfw.wa.gov/living/snags/

c. For more on Firewise, see: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/water-and-land/forestry/forestfire.aspx

d. Fire-resistant Landscape Plants for the Puget Sound Basin https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/water-and-land/forestry/forestfire/FirewisePlantsPugetSoundBasin-2011.pdf

e. Fire-resistant Plants for Home Landscapes https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/pnw590.pdf

f. Chilling Ember Storm Test by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety's Research Center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvbNOPSYyss

2. When trimming, be safe. Branches can be heavier than they look, and trimming equipment is extremely sharp. Keep your distance from the chipper crew when they are working. They are the experts, and like us, don’t want anyone to get hurt.

3. Stack branches next to the Mirrormont roads so the cut (fat) ends point toward the road. This makes it easier to handle when chipping. Have your cuttings stacked no later than April 25th.  Assure that no rope, nails, metal, rocks, plastic, or lumber are in the pile. Make a note of time spent cleaning, trimming, and stacking – this is your “volunteer” time. Also include time you spent this year removing debris from your roof and gutters.

4. Throughout April 26th—27th, the crew will work their way along our streets from pile to pile. Chip loads will go first to Mirrormont Park for trail and edging improvements and other landscaping then to participants as loads are available.

5. Be sure to sign up early to ensure you are part of this event! If you miss this event we plan a Chipper Days Fall Event on October 25-26, 2021.

6. The success of this project depends on everyone complying with the above. Please respect the time that MCA volunteers are putting into organizing and implementing this.

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Questions? Email firewise@mirrormont.org