Spring Chipper Days

Participate in the 11th Annual Chipper Days - April 22–23

Great Deal! Get your wood piles chipped (~$500 value).

Objective: Reduce the impact of wildfires on our community and maintain our official Firewise Community status.

Who Can Participate: First 60 MCA members to register and pay the $25 co-pay. (Not a member yet? Easily pay membership dues online).

Deadline to register: Monday, April 15th.

Additional Perk!

Free Voluntary Residential Wildfire Risk Assessments

To get your free exterior wildfire risk assessment from Wildfire Safe Eastside, please go to their website and fill out their 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!

LIMITS: Your $25 co-pay, MCA dues, and a $4000 grant from Washington Department of Natural Resources Firewise USA® will cover chipping of a single pile of branches up to 4-ft. high x 8-ft. wide (large ends out toward street if possible) x 10-ft. deep. Branches must be less than 10-ft. long and less than 6” in diameter. Please do not chop branches less than 10 feet long into smaller lengths. There is no minimum size, but longer is easier for the crew. 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, and bindweed, aka morning glory). This is at least a $500 value.

DETAILS:

• Firewise Community Chipper Days will be held April 22nd–23rd.
• The MCA sponsors and funds this event.
• Jessie McCune of Issaquah Tree Care has agreed to implement our Spring 2024 project as he did our 2022 and 2023 Chipper Days.

Summary of Important Dates

April15th                  Deadline to Register and Pay $25 Co-Pay

April 20th                 Complete Piles of Branches

April 21st                  Post Assigned Flow Number on Pile

April 22nd–23rd    Chipping Occurs

April 27th                 Deadline for Emailing Work Hours

To Be Eligible: 

1. You must be up to date with your 2024 MCA dues. PAY HERE.

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, CLICK HERE

Once Registered:

1. Make your pile of branches.

    a. Stack branches by the side of a Mirrormont road with the fattest ends facing toward the road, all in one direction.

    b. Deadline: April 20th.

2. 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.

    Deadline: April 20th.

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

3. 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 21st. 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 firewise@mirrormont.org if you don’t get a Flow Number by April 23rd.

     b. Post by April 23rd

4. Report hours worked.

     a. Report number of hours worked trimming, cleaning-up, and moving your piles to the roadway. The focus should be on removing heavy accumulations of ground litter/debris and dead plant and tree material out to 200 feet from your home. Also include hours you spent on wildfire measures such as 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. 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 Firewise@mirrormont.org

     c. Report by April 29th.

5. Questions?

For any other questions about Chipper Days Spring 2024 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 2024

Before April 21st, clear dead brush and dry branches from your yard. 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 has 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. 

     c. Forest fire safety and Firewise in King County 

     d. Fire-resistant Landscape Plants for the Puget Sound Basin 

     e. Fire-resistant Plants for Home Landscapes 

     f. Chilling Ember Storm Test by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety's Research Center

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 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 21st.

4. Throughout April 22nd–23rd, 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.