This includes residents in Unincorporated Boulder County, City of Boulder, Erie (Boulder County portions), Jamestown, Lafayette, Longmont, Louisville, Lyons, Nederland, Superior and Ward.
We’ve made some minor changes to last year’s Community Chipping Program, including adding more Contractors and ways to make it easier for you to host your own event! Please read through this entire page and the FAQs here before proceeding.
The program still requires one person or household to assume the role of Chipping Event Host for their community chipping event. The Host is responsible for completing an application for themself and at least 4 neighbors, coordinating a chipping date with a County approved contractor and participating neighbors, and educating others on slash pile requirements (using our Wildfire Partners slash requirement video below.)
1. Boulder County residents interested in organizing a chipping event for their local community fill out an application under one individual (aka the “Host”).
2. Wildfire Partners staff review the application and notify the homeowner if it’s approved, usually within 1-2 weeks.
3. Upon approval, the homeowner receives an email from Wildfire Partners with a list of approved chipping contractors, instructions for contacting and scheduling a contractor, and a reminder of slash pile requirements.
4. The homeowner contacts a contractor from the approved list and schedules the event day(s), then informs Wildfire Partners and their community of the date.
5. The homeowner educates participating homeowners on how to register and prepare slash piles for the event day(s).
6. On the event day(s), the contractor chips the slash piles at the registered locations and transports the chips to approved donation sites in Boulder County.
7. Wildfire Partners pays the contractor directly upon completion of the work.
Before completing the application, please ensure that you have the names, addresses, and emails of the neighbors who will participate in the chipping event. This information must be provided on the application. Please remember that at least 5 neighbors (including the Chipping Event Host) must be included for the application to be approved.
Wildfire Partners Community Chipping Application
If you have questions or need additional information, please send an email to Zack Bertges at zbertges@bouldercounty.gov.
The application, updated forms, and the process of how the Host will add participants to their event have all undergone some minor procedural changes (changes are explained in the Host approval email). Wildfire Partners has also added additional contractors, and we’ve set some slash pile requirements below.
You must follow all steps listed on the WildfirePartners.org website and in the supporting emails for 2024. This is to ensure that all communications between the Host, Coordinator, Contractor, and Event Participants remain effective as the program scales to support all of Boulder County.
Yes, each participant is allowed to have up to one 80ft x 5 x 5 pile OR two 40ft x 5 x 5 piles maximum (do not exceed these measurements or number of piles). Our contractors will only chip up to TWO piles per property within these dimensions. Slash piles should be a minimum size of 5x5x5-feet.
Wildfire Partners is using the Community Chipping Program to mitigate slash from the Home Ignition Zone (aka the “HIZ”). We will chip any slash that comes from within a 100-foot radius of your home structure.
No. We will not be chipping slash piles that come from the ignition zone around an uninhabitable structure.
While there are no date restrictions at this time, chipping operations will likely not occur during inclement weather or snow. Applications for Community Chipping Events will likely be available from April 1st to November 30th.
Yes! Hosts and participants may organize multiple events throughout the year as long as they continue to agree to meet slash pile requirements. There is no limit for number of events a community can have.
*Each event will need a separate application (there is no “renewal” application or process planned for 2024).
NO! Some of our Contractors expressed safety concerns from the 2023 season, and all slash piles need to be in a safe location for vehicle/chipper access. Slash piles left in unsafe areas will be left unchipped. If you are unsure if a pile location is safe, please contact your Chipping Contractor directly before the chipping event.
For 2023, most applications took 0-2 days for approval, and most Hosts were able to schedule with a Contractor within a few days of being approved. Some Hosts even applied on a Monday, were approved and scheduled with a Contractor on Tuesday, and chipped that Friday! Scheduling is entirely dependent on the Host’s efforts and Contractor’s availability.
Nope! The Community Chipping Program is open to all Boulder County residents.
Nothing! Contractor costs and payment are provided by the Boulder County’s Wildfire Partners Wildfire Mitigation Tax Fund (formerly known as the 1A ballot initiative).
Yes- all contractors that are involved with the Community Chipping Program are specifically approved by Boulder County and Wildfire Partners.
There is no cost to the homeowner for participation in the Wildfire Partners Community Chipping Program.
Contractors will travel from address-to-address to chip each slash pile. You should not combine slash piles into one central location unless specifically told by your approved Contractor.
No. In general, all slash should be staged 2-3 ft from a public road in a safe location. If this is not common for your property or if staging this way creates a hazard for the public or the homeowner, the participant and Chipping Event Host need to communicate directly with the Contractor, prior to the Chipping Event, to determine if the Contractor can access the slash pile safely.
Wildfire Partners will not be organizing lists at this time.
Properties need to be reasonably close together and in the same neighborhood. Properties do not need to share a border.
While this process is currently being researched with Boulder County partners, this will not be an option for the 2024 Community Chipping Program.
You can apply for the Community Chipping Program if each property has its own unique street address.
No, not at this time.
Nope! The Chipping Program’s purpose is to reduce slash (fire fuel) into woodchips, and then relocate the woodchips to a donation site.
The Chipping Event Host plays a very important role in producing an Event. The Host applies to the program, communicates directly with the Wildfire Partners Chipping Coordinator, the Chipping Contractor, and the local participants. The host will need to have a positive interest in communicating and organizing.
Nope! There are no requirements to be a Host, but the Host should be fire-minded and have a positive attitude towards communicating with their neighbors!
