Firewise Program

To maintain our Firewise designation, we need to report the hours (or dollars spent) removing green waste, and provide educational content on a Wildfire related topic.  There are some important updates to review below, especially the directions on how to maximize the free resources we can access to remove green waste. 

As we look toward another summer of fun in Rubicon, a low level of snowpack and our warm/dry March combines for conditions that will make our Firewise efforts increasingly important in 2026. 

Maximizing Our Free Resources

The Firewise program has grown rapidly in recent years.  This is great news as the more our neighboring communities do to reduce wildfire hazard, the more it benefits us as well.  But that rapid growth presents challenges, as the grant used to fund the free dumpsters for green waste removal is being stretched further than ever before, and may limit availability more than in the past.  To maximize dumpster availability for 2026, we are being asked by partner organizations to make more use of the free Chipping Program for our branches and larger sticks, focusing dumpster usage on needles, cones, and smaller tree debris.  See the links below for directions and all of the resources you’ll need to make use of the Chipping Program in conjunction with our dumpster weekends, as well as some important rules and reminders for dumpster usage.

• RTO Maximizing Resources PDF - Chipping Program & Dumpster Details

• North Tahoe Fire Chipping - Request Form

Community Work Weekends

We tentatively plan to have green waste dumpsters in the neighborhood on the following 3 weekends, pending dumpster availability:

1. May 22 – 26  (Memorial Day weekend)

2. June 19 – 22  (Father’s Day weekend)

3. July 10-13

More details including dumpster locations will be shared the week of each event.  Please make sure to log your clean up info using the following form. This is important for getting the Firewise Certification and getting support for the dumpsters.

Education Topic for 2026

To maintain Firewise compliance, each year features an educational topic.  More details to come once the 2026 topic is finalized.

Defensible Space Compliance Map

The attached map shows compliance by parcel as of its latest inspection.  If you are not yet compliant, please use the new 3-Year Plan to guide your efforts, and/or schedule an inspection from North Tahoe Fire at the link below.  They will provide a checklist of actions to take in order to gain compliance.  You may also request a new inspection if you believe you have gained compliance since your last inspection but the map doesn’t reflect your current status.

https://www.ntfire.net/defensible-space-program