Spring Chipper Days

Chipper Days Spring 2023: April 24–25

The deadline to register is Monday, April 17th. 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  tenth Firewise Chipper Days event. We will continue on a  first-come/first-served basis upon receipt of your $25 co-pay for MCA  members to have wood piles chipped. It’s not too late to become an MCA  member and you can easily pay membership dues online at https://www.mirrormont.org/shop

Free Voluntary Residential Wildfire Risk Assessments

We are continuing our emphasis on individual homeowners inviting Michael Lasecki Senior Resource Specialist, Forest Stewardship and Wildfire Resiliency King Conservation District (KCD) – to conduct free wildfire risk assessments. To request this free non-regulatory assessment use this form. 

For more info see Wildfire Risk Assessments and watch this webinar “Managing Wildfire Risk to Western Washington Communities”

HELP US GET FUNDING: Over the past 10 years we have  had government grant assistance. Increasing the number of Mirrormont  residents that participate in the wildfire risk assessments can improve  our chances of future government funding assistance. Please schedule one  soon!

Summary   of Important Dates

April 17th               Deadline to Register and Pay   $25 Co-Pay

April 22nd              Complete Piles of Branches

April 23rd               Post Assigned Flow Number on   Pile

April 24th–25th   Chipping Occurs

April 29th               Deadline for Emailing Work   Hours

Jessie McCune of Issaquah Tree Care has agreed to implement our Spring 2023 project as he did our 2021 and 2022 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 $25 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 $25  co-pay. No rope, nails, metal, rocks, plastic, lumber, or invasive  plants (such as ivy, holly, blackberries, yellow archangel, bindweed aka  morning glory). This is at least a $500 value.    

THE DETAILS(please read and comply!): 

  • Firewise Community Chipper Days will be held April 24th–25th. 

  • The MCA sponsors and funds this event.

To Be Eligible:

1. You must be up to date with your 2023 dues. You can easily pay online at https://www.mirrormont.org/shop

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://www.mirrormont.org/post/address-signposts-help-others-find-us

3. TRACK YOUR HOURS! Firewise eligibility is based  on volunteer hours worked, so please keep track of any Firewise related  hours worked in your yard or at the park. You will be asked to report  these after Chipper Days. This work can include preparing for Chipper  Days, removing heavy accumulations of ground litter/debris, dead plant  and tree material out to 200 feet from your home, and removing flammable  debris from roofs or removing or replacing flammable materials (such  as: leaves, wood chips, and wood storage, etc.) five feet from your home  and decks.

Once Eligible, Now What?

1. Register for Chipper Days 

a. Register and pay $25 online with the following information:

i.    Name

ii.   Street Address

iii.  Phone number

iv.  Email

v.   Number of piles

vi.  Do you want the chips placed on your property? YES/NO

(note: this could be up to a 14-cubic yard truckload).

b. Contact membership@mirrormont.org if you have questions about your membership status.

c. Deadline: 5:00 PM on April 17th.

2. Finish making your pile of branches

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

b. Deadline: April 22rd.

3. Assess the size of your pile

a. If larger than the 4’x8’x10’ size listed above (see LIMITS section) then you must submit a $25

co-pay for each additional pile.

i. Deadline: April 22rd.

b. If your pile is less than the 4’x8’x10’ size limit, the co-pay is still $25.

4. Write or print out and post ‘Flow Number-House Number’ on your pile.

a. ‘Flow Number-House Number’ will be assigned and emailed to you  before April 23rd. For example, #21—14985. Write or print out the Flow  Number—House Number with “Chips YES/NO” 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.). Contact  membership@mirrormont.org if you don’t get a Flow Number by April 23rd.

b. Post by April 23th.

5. Report hours worked

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

b. Email the hours to membership@mirrormont.org

c. Report by April 29th.

6. For any other questions about Chipper Days Spring  2023 or if you need outside help in collecting piles for financial or  physical limitations, please email Wayne Elson at  Firewise@mirrormont.org

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO PREPARE FOR MCA FIREWISE CHIPPER DAYS SPRING 2023

Before April 23rd, 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 and 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 23rd.

4. Throughout April 24th–25th, 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!

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.