Reduce your property’s fire risk with the FireSmart Community Chipping Program
News Release
Registration for the 2025 FireSmart Community Chipping Program will be opening on April 9 at 9 a.m., once again helping Kelowna homeowners reduce the risk of wildfire impacts on their properties.
“The 2023 McDougall Creek fire showed Kelowna residents the very real threat that travelling embers pose in our fight against wildfires,” says Dennis Craig, Assistant Fire Chief Mitigation & Prevention. “Helping to remove hazardous vegetation and woody debris from your property, especially within 10 metres of your home, is a key step in limiting that fuel source and reducing your risk. This helps protect you, your family, your neighbourhood, and our community as whole.”
The program is open to all City of Kelowna single family dwellings; however, available dates fill up quickly, so residents are encouraged to act fast:
- Visit kelowna.ca/firesmart to find tips and resources to prepare your home and yard for fire season.
- The chipper truck will be available for free scheduled pick-ups from May 5– 30, 2025 and you can reserve your chipping pick-up date online starting April 9 at 9 a.m.
- Prior to your scheduled pick-up week, be sure to clean up your property and pile any flammable debris at your curb. Visit kelowna.ca/firesmart for tips on preparing accepted materials properly for chipping.
The Community Chipping Program is only available for eligible highly flammable materials, which includes cedar, juniper, mugo pine, and fir, pine and spruce branches. Debris will not be picked up if it contains broadleaf (deciduous) trees, roots, dirt, rocks, gravel, grasses, or other non-organic materials (e.g., rope, twine).
Find additional information about the FireSmart program at the City of Kelowna’s FireSmart Community Chipping Program webpage . You can also find additional information about how to reduce risks of wildfire impacts on private property in the FireSmart BC Homeowner’s Guide or at the FireSmart BC Landscaping Hub .
While the Community Chipping program seeks to address residential properties, the Regional District of Central Okanagan’s agricultural chipping program and the mow/chip/rent-buy-it rebate supports residential/ farmers / orchardists with the rental or purchase cost up to $3,000 to chip or flail mow wood waste (stumps and branches). To be eligible, the property size must be 1 ha or greater and be located within the Central Okanagan. Learn more at rdco.com .
The Community Chipping Program is funded with support from the province through the City of Kelowna Parks Department and FireSmartTM BC, and is a collaboration between several provincial and federal agencies, designed to empower the public and increase neighbourhood resilience to the impacts of wildfire.
For more information and to request dates for chipping pick-up, visit kelowna.ca/firesmart .
