By Joe Nelson
San Bernardino County Sun (California)
Copyright 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Curbing the high fire threat
BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif — High fire threat has prompted officials to expand a curbside woodchipping program citywide and to move forward on a meeting to discuss ways of reducing the likelihood of wildfires.
“Fire safety shouldn’t be knee-jerk based on immediate weather conditions,” said Big Bear Lake Fire Chief John Morley. “We shouldn’t be looking at the short-term weather conditions for what we need to do long-term for fuel reduction in the community.”
The Fire Department launched a pilot curbside woodchipping program in 2005 on Oriole and Eureka streets in which residents were allowed to pile tree trimmings and shrubbery along their curbs. A local contractor would come by and toss the green waste into a woodchipper and dispose of it.
Based on the success of the pilot program, the fire protection district was able to secure a grant from the U.S. Forest Service to purchase its own woodchipper, which the city augmented with the purchase of a dump truck to be used in unison with the woodchipper.
On Monday, the City Council authorized the fire department to expand the chipping program citywide and to launch a promotional campaign entailing the distribution of fliers to all city residents between May and November.
The $60,000 program will be funded through the city’s refuse fund, of which $25,000 will be used to fund the program through the remainder of this fiscal year and another $35,000 to fund the program through next year.
Morley said that under the new program, the city will be divided into six areas, and the woodchipper and dump truck will make rounds to each of those areas every two weeks. The two-week window between rounds the woodchipper and dump truck makes to the six areas allows residents to gather their tree trimmings and shrubbery and pile along the curb, Morley said.
“I think everybody believes there is an overabundance of vegetation, and my belief is people in general want to do the right thing, but it has to be somewhat convenient for them,” Morley said.
Part-time labor may also need to be hired to help in the chipping and disposal, Morley said, adding that he doesn’t believe the piles of combustible green waste sitting along curbs will pose any serious threat.
“I do not see a significant risk by people doing this, and in the long term, I think it’s going to make our community safer,” Morley said.
Meanwhile, the City Council and Planning Commission are planning a joint meeting to discuss the issue of fire danger and what steps can be taken to minimize the threat of wildfires as the summer approaches. Officials are pushing to schedule the meeting before June 1, said Cheri Haggerty, spokeswoman for the city.