Curbside Chipping

Maintaining the legally required 100 feet of defensible space around your property can be a challenge. Once you’ve taken the necessary steps to protect your property by thinning and trimming hazardous brush, you are often left with large piles of dry vegetation, which can themselves become a fire hazard.

That is why we have brought back our Curbside Chipping program for residents in multiple very high fire risk communities. Once you’ve done the hard work of preparing the defensible space, our contractors will chip the cleared vegetation for you, free of charge. The chips are left with you and can be used as a weed suppressing mulch on your property.

How to Apply

Applications are open to residents within the service area detailed in the map to the right and appointments are grouped based on geographic location for efficiency.

FIRST search your address in the interactive map to find out if curbside chipping is available in your area.

SECOND submit an application to participate. After submitting an application a staff member will contact you when there is enough applicants nearby to send a chipper out to your area. Please note, your application will not be processed until there is a significant group in your area signed up, please encourage your neighbors to sign up at the same time!

THIRD stack and stage your piles following these guidelines:

Stack all fresh cuts facing the street.
Material should be stacked in an extremely easily accessible location such as a driveway, curbside, or on an access road
Cut materials must be only from the defensible space 100 feet around your primary structure
Arrange piles neatly in a row and in one location rather than scattered around the property
NO mud, rocks, construction materials, trash, thorns, poison oak, leaf litter, bamboo, palm fronds
NO stumps or roots
NO limbs larger than 6″ in diameter

Please Note:

The Curbside Chipping Program for fuel reduction is offered in targeted communities and are subject to availability of funding. Communities may be added or removed without notice.
This program is funding dependent. We are currently accepting applicants from our designated service area and will run this program until all funding is spent.
Applying to this program is not a guarantee of service.
The Curbside Chipping Program is administered by the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County in partnership with the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County. Funding is provided by the Regional Resilience Grant Program.
In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.

What if I don't live in the 2026 service area and have material that needs chipped?

Check out our list of Community Chipping Events to see if there is one in your area. Community Chipping Events are intended to provide residents a place to take their cleared vegetation for it to be chipped and hauled away for free.