Spring Chipper Days

The deadline to register is Monday, April 18th. If interested, please read the following information carefully.  

The overall objective is to reduce the impact of future wildfires on our community. As an official Firewise Community, we are offering our ninth Firewise Chipper Days event. We will continue on a first-come/first-served basis upon receipt of your $20 co-pay for MCA members to have wood piles chipped. It’s not too late to become an MCA member. See https://mirrormont.org/

Free Voluntary Residential Wildfire Risk Assessments

We are continuing our emphasis on individual homeowners inviting Matthew Axe–Wildfire and Forest Resiliency Coordinator, Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist– to conduct free wildfire risk assessments. We did not have enough wildfire risk assessments to qualify for funds from King Conservation District (KCD) over the past six months, so please contact Matt 425-282-1931 (office) or 425-773-5060 (cell) or email Matthew.axe@kingcd.org to schedule one. For more info see Wildfire Risk Assessments. Matt also has 36-minute webinar “Managing Wildfire Risk to Western Washington Communities.”

HELP US GET FUNDING: Over the past 7 years we have had government grant assistance but are now ineligible without more homeowners getting free wildfire risk assessments. Please schedule one soon!

Summary of Important Dates

April18th: Deadline to Register and Pay $20 Co-Pay

April 23rd: Complete Piles of Branches

April 24th: Post Assigned Flow Number on Pile

April 25th-26th: Chipping Occurs

April 30th: Deadline for Email Work Hours

Jessie McCune of Issaquah Tree Care has agreed to implement our Spring 2022 project as he did our 2021 Chipper Days.

LIMITS: 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 will cover chipping of a single pile of branches 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. Participants may have a second pile; however, they would need to submit an additional $20 co-pay. No rope, nails, metal, rocks, plastic, lumber, or invasive plants (such as ivy, holly, blackberries, bindweed aka morning glory). This is at least a $225 value.  Please note! The Chippers will chip multiple piles before the truck is full and they dump the chips. They will prioritize the park, and then only a few homes will receive the remaining chips.

THE DETAILS (please read and comply!):  

• Firewise Community Chipper Days will be held April 25th–26th. (The second day is to allow for inclement weather, chipping rates, or unforeseen events.)

• The MCA sponsors and funds this event. If enough residents schedule a free wildfire assessment, we may be able to be eligible for funding from KCD for another Chipper Days in October.

To Be Eligible:

1. You must be up to date with your 2022 dues. If you have questions about your 2022 membership status, email Larry Mar at membership@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). 
3. TRACK YOUR HOURS! Funding and eligibility are based on hours worked, so please keep track of any Firewise hours worked in your yard or at the park. You will be asked to report these after Chipper Days.

Once Eligible, Now What?

Register for Chipper Days (Deadline April 18th.)

Finish making your pile of branches (Deadline April 23rd)

Stack branches by the side of a Mirrormont road with the cut (fattest) ends facing out in one direction.

Assess the size of your pile

If larger than the 4’x8’x10’ size listed above (see LIMITS section) then you must submit a $20 co-pay for each additional pile. If your pile is less than the 4’x8’x10’ size limit, the co-pay is still $20.

Write or print out and post ‘Flow Number" on your pile. (Post by April 24th)

Your "flow" number is your HOUSE number. Please print or write clearly on a piece of paper your house number and how many piles you have. Enclose this in a ziploc bag (to protect from rain) and attach it to your piles BY APRIL 24th.

(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. Only a few houses will get chips!)

Report hours worked (Due April 30th)

Report number of hours worked trimming, cleaning-up, and moving your piles to the roadway. Our continued designation as a Firewise community and eligibility for future grants is based in part on volunteer hours that go toward making our community “Firewise” and safer. This is important! A survey will be sent out post Chipper Days, look for the email and submit hours via the survey.

For any other questions about Chipper Days Spring 2022 or if you need outside help in collecting piles for financial or physical limitations, please email Wayne Elson at wayneelson@comcast.net.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO PREPARE FOR MCA FIREWISE CHIPPER DAYS SPRING 2022

Before April 24th, 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:
2. Plant Amnesty at http://www.plantamnesty.org.

There are YouTube pruning videos under Education.

Provides a referral service for arborists under Services.

1. 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/
2. For more on Firewise, see: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/water-and-land/forestry/forestfire.aspx
3. For Matt Axe’s 36-minute webinar “Managing Wildfire Risk to Western Washington Communities, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV3ua1c_hhk
4. Fire-resistant Landscape Plants for the Puget Sound Basin https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/water-and-land/forestry/forestfire/FirewisePlantsPugetSoundBasin-2011.pdf
5. Fire-resistant Plants for Home Landscapes https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/pnw590.pdf
6. Chilling Ember Storm Test by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety's Research Center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvbNOPSYyss
7. 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.
8. 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 24th. Assure that no rope, nails, metal, rocks, plastic, lumber, or noxious weeds (ivy, holly, blackberries, bindweed) 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.
9. Throughout April 25th—26th, 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.
10. Be sure to sign up early to ensure you are part of this event! If you miss this event, we hope to have a Chipper Days Fall Event on October.

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.