PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — CAL FIRE announced this week it's giving $43 million to communities across the state to work on wildfire prevention.
The Placer County Resource Conservation District received $999,728 for a project that will create a shaded fuel break to protect the communities of Applegate, Heather Glen, Weimar, and Clipper Gap.
The Placer County RCD told ABC10 it has been using money it received in previous years from the CAL FIRE California Climate Investments (CCI) Program to fund the Chipper Program.
"The chipper program provides an incentive to landowners to do fuel reductions on their property, and have an easy, affordable way to get rid of that material," explained Placer County RCD's Executive Director, Elisa Noble.
Landowners can call the Chipper Program when they have a pile of material that needs to be chipped.
"We really encourage neighbors to work together because it's $40 an hour for whatever is there. So, you might as well all work together and be efficient with your time and get a lot of work done to make the neighborhood fire safe," said Noble.
Treacy Mize, who lives in Christian Valley, said using the Chipper Program saved her a lot of time and money.
"It's really nice to have this service because it would be expensive to have your own chipper and you wouldn't be able to have one this efficient or nice," Mize said. "I think it's amazing. We're always looking for ways to keep our homes and our neighborhoods safe."
To learn more about the Chipper Program, you can call (916) 600-3061 or visit www.placercountyrcd.org.
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