April 7, 2024 — To help landowners create defensible space around their homes, Chaffee Chips will coordinate free neighborhood slash removal and chipping services in several geographic areas this year.

The countywide fire mitigation program reduces the threat of wildfire by helping homeowners remove potential fire fuels. Property owners in the service areas are asked to cut and clear brush and trees before the event and pile them at their curbs. 

Since Chaffee Chips started in 2020, 750 landowners have built 2,300 piles of slash that were chipped on-site by the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) or hauled away by Chaffee County Fire Protection District firefighters. This year’s service dates are:

• April 23-24: East Game Trail
• July 30-Aug 1: Lost Creek Ranch, Pine Grove Estates & surrounds
• Oct. 22-24: Lower Chalk Creek
• Nov. 5-7: Weldon Creek, Hayden Springs Ranch, Eureka Ranch, Eagle Moon 

Landowners can get detailed information about how to reduce wildfire threats on their property and protect their homes by requesting a free assessment from a CSFS forester. Call 719-539-2579 to schedule an appointment. 

Property owners in lower-elevation piñon-juniper forests need to be aware of the Ips bark beetle infestation. To prevent spread, do not cut any green/live piñon branches or remove whole trees during the beetle’s active periods from April to early October.

Chaffee Chips participants are required to register their slash piles on Envision Chaffee County’s Chaffee Chips webpage for them to be picked up. A video is available on the webpage that explains what to do to effectively treat your Home Ignition Zone to prepare for a fire.

Chaffee Chips service locations are chosen by the Envision Forest Health Council, based on Treatment Priority Areas outlined in the Chaffee County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The plan maps where to treat both public and private lands to reduce the risk that severe wildfire poses to community assets such as power lines and drinking water supply, as well as homes. 

Chaffee Chips is funded by Chaffee Common Ground and CSFS grants. Program partners are Chaffee Fire, Colorado State Forest Service Salida Field Office and Envision Chaffee County.

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Dan R

Danny “Dan R” Ridenour has been in radio and television broadcasting for over 40 years, starting as a senior in high school in Rogers, Arkansas. His radio career has had stops in Nashville, Memphis, Oklahoma, and eventually, Colorado. Dan enjoys being involved in the community, having been a member of the Upper Arkansas Service Club and is currently on the board of directors for the Salida Community Center and is a member of the Chaffee County Fair Committee. He and his wife Carrie spend their days doing everything the mountains have to offer: hiking, camping, fishing and skiing. They've raised 3 children and have 2 grandchildren.

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