Curb Side Chipping

How it works

The city’s Urban Interface Management Plan includes a curbside chipping service for hazardous fuels removed from qualifying properties. The plan says the service is provided within the identified high-risk fire area only and is intended to help landowners dispose of small-diameter brush and trees to reduce wildfire risk. It is not a general debris removal or landscape cleanup service. (archive.rcgov.org)

What the service covers

Landowners must cut hazardous fuel material smaller than 5 inches in diameter at the base of the stem, place it at curbside with the base facing the street, and then have it chipped by the city program. Trees removed under the Mountain Pine Beetle suppression program or hazardous fuels removal cost share program cannot be placed in the curbside chipping program. Trees cut by a contractor may not be included either. (archive.rcgov.org)

How to apply

The landowner must contact Rapid City Fire Department to verify the property qualifies, attend an informational meeting or receive a site visit from a wildfire urban interface assessment specialist, and get approval before cutting trees and brush. (archive.rcgov.org)

Timing and deadlines

The plan says groups of landowners are encouraged to participate and that eligibility is limited to the primary wildland-urban interface area. The document does not state a dollar cap because the service is described as a service rather than a cash reimbursement. (archive.rcgov.org)