Mountain Network News

Fire Safety Chipping Programs

NEIGHBORHOOD

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

DATES

CONTACT PERSON

Aldercroft Heights*

Drop brush at the turnout on Aldercroft Heights Road.*

May 17-May 26

Kim Gardner, 353-4255

Aldercroft_Hcwd@Yahoo.com

Chemeketa Park*

Drop brush at the Chemeketa Park Playground.*

May 17-May 26

Sheila Buxton

353-4819

Summit Road Area

Drop brush by the old baseball field across the street from Loma Prieta School.

May 17 Only

8 am To 3 pm

Alex Leman

Alex@Lomaprietafire.org

Redwood Estates

Drop brush at the Community Center parking lot.

May 17-May 18

7:30 am-11:30 am

12:00 pm-3:30 pm

Jeff Bates

353-1866

Aldercroft Heights
and
Chemeketa Park*

Curbside brush pick up at your home.*

May 29-May 30 only

Requires form two weeks In advance*

Kim Gardner

353-4255

Aldercroft_Hcwd@Yahoo.com

Sheila Buxton

353-4819

Lake Canyon

Curbside brush pick up at your home*

Date to be determined

Requires form two weeks In advance*

Kim Gardner

353-4255

Aldercroft_Hcwd@Yahoo.com

Other areas may list their chipping schedules here. Watch for additions.

*

If you live in Aldercroft Heights, Chemeketa Park, or Lake Canyon, you can arrange for brush pick up at your home. You must fill out a request form two weeks in advance. For more information, call or email Kim Gardner or Sheila Buxton. (See table for phone numbers and email addresses. )

Brush must be less than six inches in diameter. No length limit.

Please, no root balls, construction debris, dirt, or other material that may damage the chipper.

If you live in Santa Clara County and would like to help organize a chipping program in your neighborhood, call
Rick Parfitt,
408-353-4912,
or email RickP@SCCFireSafe.org.

For help with chipping programs in Santa Cruz County, call
Angela Pettersen at CalFire, 831-335-6794,
or email angela.petersen@fire.ca.gov.

The Burn Season is over in Santa Cruz County

Backyard burning is prohibited.

To confirm,
call 1-800-225-2876
Road Problems
Local Areas of Santa Cruz County

Highland Way is officially closed to through traffic at PM 328. If FEMA funds are available, and if geotechnical studies indicate that reconstruction is practical, work to re-open the road should begin next summer. One lane is also closed at PM 4.32.

Olive Springs Road has only one lane open at PM .35.

Hutchinson Road is subject to traffic delays and lane closures from February 25 through March 28 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. for construction-related storm damage repair, 1/4 mile in from Riva Ridge Road. Anticipate delays up to 1/2 hour.
East Zayante Road (PM 4.65), Eureka Canyon Road (PM 8.54 to 8.68), Glenwood Drive (between PM 4.48 and 4.70, and at 23975), and Redwood Lodge Road (PM 2.03) have only one lane open due to slides and slipouts.

See how local schools
performed in API scores

Hint: Three schools did better in 2007;
three did worse.

Bus day passes
now cost less.

Adult day pass: $5.00

Youth (5 - 17 years): $4.00

Senior/Disabled/Medicare: $2.00
Click here for Route 76 bus schedule to Los Gatos.

The 76 Bus
is still Alive.

Santa Clara County's Valley Transit Authority now plans to retain the mountain bus route 76 for Los Gatos High School students, but only when school is in session. The summer route will be discontinued.

For more information, visit http://www.org/coa/coa index.html

Thank you to the people who spoke at meetings, wrote letters, and sent emails in support of the 76 bus route. At least for now, you helped keep us connected.

Protecting Your Home from Fire

Here’s a checklist on how to improve your landscaping from CalFire at www.fire.ca.gov:

Create a defensible space of one hundred feet around your home. It is required by law.

Create a "lean, clean, green zone" by removing all flammable vegetation within thirty feet surrounding your home

Create a "reduced fuel zone" in the remaining seventy feet or to your property line.

You have two options in this area:

A. Create horizontal and vertical spacing between plants. The amount of space will depend on how steep your property is and the size of your plants.

B. Large trees do not have to be removed as long as all of the plants beneath them are removed.

Remove lower tree branches at least six feet from the ground

Landscape with fire resistant plants

Maintain all plants with regular water, and keep dead braches, leaves, and needles removed.

When clearing vegetation, use care when operating equipment such as lawnmowers. One small spark may start a fire; a string trimmer is much safer.

In your yard

Stack woodpiles at least thirty feet from all structures and remove vegetation within ten feet of woodpiles

Locate LPG tanks (butane and propane) at least thirty feet from any structure and maintain ten feet of clearance

Remove all stacks of construction materials, pine needles, leaves, and other debris from your yard

For other ways to protect your home from fire, visit www.fire.ca.gov