Chipper Program Continues To Create Defensible Space

Big Bear, Ca, November 16, 2011, 12:00pm - Many residents within the Big Bear Valley have once again created defensible space on their property, and utilized the free curbside chipper program put on by the Big Bear Valley Fire Protection program Thin Is In.  The program, which started in 2006, has rapidly grown over the years with 3,068 requests for chipping in 2011, and over 1,000 tons of wood being chipped.  The program is in place to help home and business owners create defensible space on their properties by removing dead vegetation, trimming branches, trimming and pruning over grown shrubs, and removing accumulated pine needles.  In addition to the chipper program, residents also had 1,089 dead, dying, diseased or hazardous trees removed valley wide this past year with 768 of those trees being in the City of Big Bear Lake area.  David Yegge, who oversees the Thin Is In, and defensible space programs thanked all of the people who participated in creating defensible space, which he said is “very much needed.” The chipping program will start back up in 2012 in June.  For more information visit www.Thinisin.org.

Free On Demand Curbside Chipper Program

Big Bear Valley, CA, May 20, 2011, noon - Mother Nature provided some natural tree pruning again this year with the heavy snowfall during the winter months.  As you work around your mountain home this season, Big Bear Valley Fire Agencies remind residents and property owners to create defensible space by limbing up trees, thinning out heavily treed areas on your property, and clearing overgrown vegetation. For specific steps and tips, visit www.thinisin.org. The Big Bear Valley Free Chipping Program is on demand this year valley wide.  Once you have limbed up, thinned out, and trimmed back, call the toll free chipping hot line at 877-771-CHIP (2447) to coordinate FREE pick up. Chipping crews will be at the curb to chip your branches and tree limbs into mulch.

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David Yegge Awarded With Firewise Leadership Award

Big Bear, Ca, March 28, 2011, 4:00pm - David Yegge, Fire Fuels Program Supervisor for the Big Bear Lake Fire Protection District, has been selected as a state winner for the 2010 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Firewise Leadership Award, for his numerous efforts in the area of wildfire mitigation.  According to the Big Bear Lake Fire Department, in just five years under Yegge’s supervision, 25,000 dead trees have been removed; landowners have gained no-cost professional advice in the thinning of trees and shrubs on private land; and a wood shake/shingle replacement program was instituted, utilizing grant funding to offset costs to property owners.  In addition, Yegge developed an aggressive media campaign to promote defensible space in Big Bear Valley, utilizing public service announcements, media advertising, and a local resource website, www.thinisin.org.  He also made numerous presentations to community groups to get the word out on the measures citizens can take to lower community wildfire hazard risk.  KBHR congratulates and thanks David Yegge for his dedicated efforts in helping Big Bear be a Firewise community. 

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8th Annual Xeriscape Garden Tour is Saturday, July 24th

Big Bear Valley, July 20, 2010, 12:07pm – The Sierra Club hosts the 8th annual Xeriscape Garden Tour this Saturday, July 24th featuring seven homes where the owners have created beautiful landscaped gardens that highlight drought-tolerant and native plants.  Unique to the tour this year, one home will be showcased where the homeowner has combined defensible space with xeriscape landscaping to create a garden that is both water and fire wise.  At this home, attendees can enter a drawing towards $1000 in gift certificates to our local nurseries; learn about creating defensible space and talk to fire prevention experts from the Big Bear City Fire Department.  The free, self-guided tour begins at Eminger’s Mountain Nursery at 41223 Big Bear Boulevard where participants can stop by anytime between 9am and noon to pick up a tour booklet.  The tour continues until 4pm.  One of the stops will take you to Hunter’s Nursery on Fox Farm Road where a native plant expert can provide detailed information on Big Bear native plants.  The City of Big Bear Lake, the DWP, BBARWA, Big Bear City Fire, Big Bear Marina, Big Bear City CSD, Hunter’s Nursery, Eminger’s Nursery, Master Composters, TSL Landscape and Maintenance, Nativescapes, Stalcup Landscaping and USAA sponsor the event

District Ranger Tangenberg Plans for Additional Fuels Reduction on Forest; SBNF Visitors Encouraged to Be Fire-Safe Over Holiday

Big Bear Valley, CA/San Bernardino National Forest — District Ranger Scott Tangenberg has been overseeing the Mountaintop District of the San Bernardino National Forest for over a year now, having officially assumed the position in September after serving as acting district ranger upon the promotion of Kurt Winchester last spring. “I am basically the local supervisor,” he tells KBHR. “I supervise 150 employees and am the local decision-maker on ranger district projects.”
Among those projects are the plans for additional fuels reduction along the Big Bear Valley, to increase the defensible space along the wildland-urban interface. “We call it the South Big Bear Project,” explains Tangenberg, “and it basically goes from Bear Mountain Resort to the Big Bear dam, and up to the ridgetop from the back of the community. What we are finishing up right now is the planning, which will authorize several years’ worth of implementation.” Though a specific start date has not yet been determined for the South Big Bear Project, it is likely that in the spring of 2011 fire crews will take to the ridgeline with chain saws to implement additional fuels reduction. To date, the San Bernardino National Forest has completed a fuel break along the ridgeline and cleared defensible space boundaries, up to 300’ deep, between the southern border of the community and the forest. “What we’re authorizing right now,” adds the District Ranger, “is some maintenance of those two, and some treatment in between and along the other roads that go to and from, such as near the Aspen Glen picnic area, and on other interior roads.”
In the interim, adds Tangenberg, “Certainly we are preparing for fire season. We’ve hired all of our crews and we are completing our training and readiness reviews. We’ve got our Big Bear Hot Shots crew of 22 and, in the Valley, we have four engines on this side of the mountain and four engines in the Running Springs, Lake Arrowhead area—and those are fully staffed.” In light of fire season and the upcoming holiday, Tangenberg notes, “As Deputy Forest Supervisor Tom Gillett reminds us, ‘We are encouraging our visitors to plan ahead, and be fire-aware during their forest visit. With the public’s help, we can make this a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July.’ And, no personal fireworks on the mountain or fires outside of designated fire rings.”
With many projects underway to maintain our local forest, both short term and long term, our one-year-new District Ranger Tangenberg adds, “The job has certainly been challenging, but I love that challenge and continue to enjoy being engaged with both the community and my employees of the San Bernardino National Forest on a daily basis.”

On-Demand Chipping Program for Big Bear Valley Is Chipping Away at Requests; Call 877-771-CHIP for Pick-up

Big Bear Valley, CA — The Valley-wide chipping program, still offered free of charge but now offered on-demand, has been underway since the beginning of the month—and, already, the toll-free chipping hotline at 877-771-CHIP has received over 650 requests for service. Of these, over 570 requests have been processed (as of June 23), meaning chipper crews have made curbside stops to pick up tree limbs and dead vegetation and chip it into mulch. The Valley’s fire agencies—Big Bear Lake and Big Bear City Fire Departments and San Bernardino County Fire—tell KBHR that the remaining requests will be completed within a few days. To participate in the free chipping program, once defensible space has been cleared from your property, call 877-771-CHIP to leave your address for the chipping crews which, this year, are comprised of local contractors. To allow for this free service to continue, fire agencies ask that you log your hours spent creating defensible space on the website ThinIsIn.org—to date, 884 hours have been logged by the community, which will assist in future grant funding efforts for Big Bear. As you leave your curbside piles for the chipping crews, fire agencies remind that construction debris, root balls, leaves and pine needles and cut lumber are not accepted.
Update: As of Friday morning, June 25, there have been 720 requests for chipping services–and all of these have been processed! Hours logged on ThinIsIn.org now total nearly 1,000.  (Good job, Big Bear!)

Local Forest Care Program Eases Requirements, Reimburses Homeowners 75% for Creating Defensible Space

Big Bear Valley, CA — ’Tis the season to clear defensible space, to ensure that your home, our community and the surrounding forest are fire-safe for the summer season. As emphasized by Big Bear Lake Fire Chief Rod Ballard prior to a Forest Care presentation at last night’s City Council meeting, “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of each of us taking steps to create defensible space around our homes.” In addition to the free opportunity available to all Big Bear Valley residents to participate in the free neighborhood chipping program (on demand at 877-771-CHIP), the Forest Care program through the San Bernardino National Forest Association provides a 75 percent reimbursement to homeowners who spend money on tree thinning, pruning and brush removal. As explained by Forest Care’s Megan Foucht, “It’s important to create that fire-safe boundary around your home. The tree density in Big Bear is a lot lower than in other mountain communities, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important. It is really important to keep your forest healthy and your home fire-safe.” New this year is Forest Care’s reduced requirement; to qualify for 75 percent reimbursement in creating defensible space, properties must have 100 trees per acre (including seedlings)—or, say, if on a quarter acre, then 25 trees. To implement the process, call Forest Care at 888/883-THIN (or 8446); then, a CalFire forester will visit the property and mark trees for removal, then property owner completes the project and submits for reimbursement, upon which time the forester will revisit. “And then we cut a check,” says Foucht. “It’s pretty simple.” It takes about 60-90 days for reimbursement, though, to get started, both the 888/883-THIN phone line, as well as foresters, are available seven days a week. For more information on the Forest Care program, you can also visit their website at sbnfa.org/forestcare.php.

Local Fire Agencies Partner to Offer Free, Curbside Chipping Program; Valley’s New Chipper Hotline is 877-771-CHIP

Big Bear Valley, CA — The free neighborhood chipping program returns to the Big Bear Valley in June and what’s new and exciting about this year’s effort is that all three local fire agencies—Big Bear City, Big Bear Lake and San Bernardino County Fire Departments—have pooled their grant resources and will implement the program collectively. In years past, certain neighborhoods have been designated for chipping services on specific weeks but, as of June 2010, all Big Bear Valley residents, renters and second homeowners will be able to call for on-demand chipping services. Once treed properties have been thinned out, limbed up and cleared of overgrown vegetation, you can call the Big Bear Valley free chipping hotline, toll-free, at 877-771-CHIP (or 2447), to have your material chipped in to mulch and carried away. For specifics on creating defensible space on your property, visit the local website ThinIsIn.org; residents are also encouraged to log hours creating defensible space, as these efforts combine to further grant opportunities for the free chipping service, while also contributing to Firewise USA Communities distinctions, which have been earned by the City of Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City and Fawnskin. As Big Bear City Fire Chief Jeff Willis tells KBHR, “Logging hours on the ThinIsIn.org website is important, because we get to use volunteer hours on work done around your house to assist us in getting grant-matching funds, which enables us to offer a free chipping program such as this, Valley-wide. Also this year, local contractors will be doing the actual work, so firemen won’t be pulled from their duties, nor will the City’s Public Works crews.” The free neighborhood chipping program of the Big Bear Valley will get underway in early June and will extend into October; to coordinate free chipping and materials pickup, call 877-771-CHIP.

May 2-8 Is Wildfire Awareness Week: “Wildfire Is Coming… Is Your Home Ready?”

Per a declaration from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, this week is Wildfire Awareness Week in California and, with it, the launch of the Ready! Set! Go! Program by California fire agencies including CalFire and the San Bernardino County Fire Department. This year’s theme during Wildfire Awareness Week, which runs May 2-8, is “Wildfire is coming… Is your home ready?” Per County Fire Chief Pat Dennen, “Firefighters train hard and make countless preparations to be ready for a wildfire. Residents need to do the same. Successfully preparing for a wildfire requires residents to take personal responsibility for protecting themselves, their family and their property.” Though Big Bear Valley residents are well versed in creating defensible space, given the threat posed by living in a wildland/urban interface, the new Ready! Set! Go! approach outlines the importance of being ready by reducing the risk, being set by having an evacuation and survival plan, and “go!” as in go early when directed to evacuate. Local fire agencies within the Big Bear Valley have prepared a Big Bear-specific Ready! Set! Go! brochure, which will be available at fire departments by month’s end and, should a grant funding opportunity come through, this important information will be mailed to homeowners. Our local fire departments are also partnering to create a Valley-wide chipping program, the details of which are also expected to be released in coming weeks. In the meantime, CalFire Chief Del Waters reminds, “The first week in May is recognized as Wildfire Awareness Week, but residents need to be aware of the threat wildfire poses every day.” For preparedness tips on Ready! Set! Go!, you can visit sbcfire.org.

Big Bear Lake Fire Protection District Honored With Third Firewise Award; Reduced Revenue from Property Taxes Results in Budget Shortfall

Big Bear Lake, CA — The Big Bear Lake Fire Protection District has both some good news and some bad news, both of which were revealed in the last week. The bad news, as the City of Big Bear Lake prepares budgets for fiscal year 2010/2011, is that the Fire Protection District looks to see a significant shortfall in revenue in the coming year, presenting a potential budget gap of $880,000 in what is, per the City’s Chief Operating Officer Kathleen Smith, roughly a $5 million annual operating budget. Per details outlined by Big Bear Lake Fire Chief Rod Ballard on April 14, approximately 85% of the fire department’s revenue comes from property taxes and given a third year of decline in these totals, as well as a 25% downturn in grant funding availability, the Fire Protection District anticipates a deficit from revenue to expenses of $881,480. As Chief Ballard, who joined the department just over a year ago, is out this week, COO Smith tells KBHR, “We are going to be setting up a budget workshop to go over what the options are for their potential budget shortfall.”
In the meantime, the Fire Protection District has good news to celebrate in that, for the third consecutive year, the City of Big Bear Lake has received the Firewise Communities distinction from the Firewise Communities/USA recognition program. Big Bear Lake is one of less than 40 communities within California to receive this honor, which has also been awarded to Big Bear City and Fawnskin. The Firewise designation was earned as a result of efforts to protect people and properties from the dangers of fire in our wildland/urban interface; measures to achieve such include the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, the City’s native brush and shrub ordinance [see our 2008 Archive], curbside chipping programs, the fire-safe native planting guide created with the Sierra Club, and free defensible space workshops offered at the fire department.

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