Community Articles
General News · 3rd May 2021
Shaun Koopman
Please FireSmart your home and property by
bringing excess wood debris to the end of
your driveway by 9:00 am Monday June 7th.
Depending on how many residents
participate, it may take a couple of days for
the chipper to get to your property.
Debris will be disposed of for free as part of
the FireSmart Community Chipper program
offered through the 2021 Community
Resiliency Investment grant.
No sign-up is required but if you feel your
driveway may be hard to locate then please
let us know and we’ll put you on a special list.
Rules
• No rocks, no nails & no roots.
• Ideally all the “butt ends” of branches
are pointed the same way so they can
be fed efficiently into the chipper.
• Tree trimmings must be under 16 cms
in diameter and 10 m length max.
• No invasive species such as Scotch
Broom, English Holly, Giant Hogweed
and Knotweed.
• The contractor reserves the right not
to pickup any piles that they feel does
not meet these rules.
• Do not block traffic by piling debris on
the road.
• Any debris brought to the end of
driveways after 9 am on June 7th may
not be picked up.
• Wood chips cannot be returned to
residents as they are considered fuel
under the FireSmart principles. The
SRD requested a grant policy
amendment to allow wood chips to be
returned to residents, however this
request was denied.
Since there was such a huge turnout last year there will be more chipping trucks contracted this year to remove the piles quickly.
I am aware that some residents are concerned about the grant policy that wood chips cannot be returned to residents as they are considered wildfire fuel under the FireSmart principles. The SRD requested a grant policy amendment to allow wood chips to be returned to residents, however this request was denied by the Union of BC Municipalities and the BC Wildfire Service.
SRD staff will be working Comox Strathcona Waste Management staff to explore options to provide on-island acceptable wood chip disposal locations for future offerings of this service, however these options may not be available before the 2021 wildfire season and our goal is to offer this service in spring prior to wildfire season. Under the present grant policy mandating that the chips are disposed of at a professional facility, the chips will be taken to Pacific Wood Waste and recycled into hog fuel.
bringing excess wood debris to the end of
your driveway by 9:00 am Monday June 7th.
Depending on how many residents
participate, it may take a couple of days for
the chipper to get to your property.
Debris will be disposed of for free as part of
the FireSmart Community Chipper program
offered through the 2021 Community
Resiliency Investment grant.
No sign-up is required but if you feel your
driveway may be hard to locate then please
let us know and we’ll put you on a special list.
Rules
• No rocks, no nails & no roots.
• Ideally all the “butt ends” of branches
are pointed the same way so they can
be fed efficiently into the chipper.
• Tree trimmings must be under 16 cms
in diameter and 10 m length max.
• No invasive species such as Scotch
Broom, English Holly, Giant Hogweed
and Knotweed.
• The contractor reserves the right not
to pickup any piles that they feel does
not meet these rules.
• Do not block traffic by piling debris on
the road.
• Any debris brought to the end of
driveways after 9 am on June 7th may
not be picked up.
• Wood chips cannot be returned to
residents as they are considered fuel
under the FireSmart principles. The
SRD requested a grant policy
amendment to allow wood chips to be
returned to residents, however this
request was denied.
Since there was such a huge turnout last year there will be more chipping trucks contracted this year to remove the piles quickly.
I am aware that some residents are concerned about the grant policy that wood chips cannot be returned to residents as they are considered wildfire fuel under the FireSmart principles. The SRD requested a grant policy amendment to allow wood chips to be returned to residents, however this request was denied by the Union of BC Municipalities and the BC Wildfire Service.
SRD staff will be working Comox Strathcona Waste Management staff to explore options to provide on-island acceptable wood chip disposal locations for future offerings of this service, however these options may not be available before the 2021 wildfire season and our goal is to offer this service in spring prior to wildfire season. Under the present grant policy mandating that the chips are disposed of at a professional facility, the chips will be taken to Pacific Wood Waste and recycled into hog fuel.