Council approves community burn and chipping event at Bluff Community Center to reduce wildfire risk

The Bluff Town Council approved the use of the Bluff Community Center (CCC) grounds for a community fire-mitigation collection event on April 12 (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.) with follow-up chipping and possible burns during the week, and April 13 as an overflow/assessment day. The event is designed to collect cleaned, pet-free yard waste and bagged leaves from residents to reduce wildfire fuel loads.

Organizer Malia (meeting speaker) described the plan: volunteers will help accept materials at the CCC, the volunteer fire department will organize piles and determine safe burn scheduling based on weather and wind conditions, and a local chipping operator (Jeremy Hamadu) will be asked to inspect the piles on April 13 and provide a quote (staff noted $60 per cubic yard as a preliminary vendor rate). The town offered a pickup option for residents without truck access upon advance request.

Council vote and logistics

Council motioned and unanimously approved the CCC use for April 12-13, 2025. Staff will post the event flyer, coordinate volunteer sign-ups, ensure the volunteer fire department conducts burns under safe conditions, and arrange for chipping services based on the vendor's quote. Residents were asked to prepare only clean yard waste (no pet waste) and to contact organizers to schedule pickups.

Why it matters

Bluff is entering a dry season and town and fire volunteers cited high wildfire risk; the event aims to reduce fuel loads, provide residents a disposal option, and create a resource of chips for local use or pickup.

Ending: Organizers will circulate volunteer sign-up information and a final schedule; the town will post a flyer and publish pickup instructions online.