A community page for San Carlos is in development.
In the meantime: San Carlos is served by the Redwood City Fire Department. The 2024–2025 state hazard maps expanded designated fire hazard zones in the San Carlos hills, so start with our defensible space and home hardening guidance, and see fire-safe communities in San Mateo County for how to organize your neighborhood.
A community page for the Town of Woodside and Skylonda is in development.
In the meantime: residents of Woodside, Skylonda, and the Skyline corridor are served by the Woodside Fire Protection District, which runs defensible space evaluations and participates in the neighborhood chipper program. Start with our defensible space and home hardening guidance, and see fire-safe communities in San Mateo County for how to organize your neighborhood.
The Neighborhood Chipper Program is based on a "you cut, we chip" model. Residents cut, gather, and pile vegetation from around their homes at a roadside location, and chipping crews visit neighborhood by neighborhood to chip the material back on site or haul it away at no cost. The program exists to help you maintain defensible space.
The program is a collaborative effort between FIRE SAFE San Mateo County, the Woodside Fire Protection District, CAL FIRE, the San Mateo Resource Conservation District, the South Skyline Fire Safe Council, volunteer fire departments, and dedicated community volunteers. It is funded through competitive grants and local support from San Mateo County (Measure K).
Download the current chipper program flyer (PDF)
Questions? Email
A few simple rules keep the program running safely and efficiently. Piles that do not meet the guidelines may not be chipped.
Give yourself a few weekends to do the vegetation work, and time it to your neighborhood's spring, summer, or fall chipping window.
The Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is the tool our region uses to identify landscape-scale hazards and take strategic, funded action against them. It assesses hazards and priorities across Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties, identifies at-risk communities, and recommends fuel reduction work for the highest-priority areas.
The joint plan assesses wildfire hazard across the two counties, maps at-risk communities, and provides fuel reduction recommendations for priority areas. It is not a legal or regulatory document. It is a flexible planning framework that fosters collaboration between communities and agencies, guides site-appropriate project design, and, importantly, qualifies communities to apply for state and federal fire prevention funding, which typically requires that projects tie into an adopted CWPP. Neighborhoods can also use the regional plan as the foundation for more local CWPPs.
The Santa Cruz and San Mateo CWPP originated after the 4,000-acre Summit Fire of 2008. CAL FIRE and the Santa Cruz and San Mateo Resource Conservation Districts developed the first plan in 2010, with major updates in 2018 and 2022 built on partnership, community, and agency input. The plan is designed to change over time as conditions and community needs change, and the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex has driven substantial revision of priorities on both sides of the county line.
Download the CWPP (2022 Update, PDF)
The CWPP is maintained with the San Mateo Resource Conservation District, where you can find the current plan and update process. If your community wants to propose a project or develop a neighborhood-level plan, contact us, and see our fire-safe communities page and grants page for how CWPP priorities become funded work.