Junk the Junipers--Wildfire Awareness Month

Part of collaborative Nevada Wildfire Awareness Month activities

The Nevada Division of Forestry is hosting "Junk The Junipers," 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 10, at its Eastlake Office. Residents of local communities are encouraged to bring their junipers, pines, rabbitbrush, sagebrush and other woody vegetation to be chipped for free. Participants will receive a coupon from Moana Nursery for 30 percent off a "good plant choice," Moana-grown replacement shrub.

Junk the Junipers is a Nevada Wildfire Awareness Month event, and promotes the month’s message, "Prepare Your Home for Wildfire." This is a collaborative effort sponsored by the City of Reno Fire Department, Moana Nursery, Nevada Division of Forestry, Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District and University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.

"Though ornamental junipers can often be a good plant choice for Nevada’s climate and soils, they are highly flammable and their presence in a landscape is a major factor in whether or not a home will survive a wildfire," said Ed Smith, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension natural resources specialist, and director of the Living With Fire educational program. "A good way to prepare your home for wildfire is to get rid of junipers that are within 30 feet of your home and bring them to be chipped."

The Nevada Division of Forestry Eastlake Office is at 885 Eastlake Blvd. in Washoe Valley. Vegetation chipped at the event will be used as mulch at the Nevada Division of Forestry Washoe State Tree Nursery. Materials that will not be accepted for chipping are: construction lumber, hazardous materials, lawn clippings, sod, dirt-infested vegetation and tree stumps or limbs greater than 8 inches in diameter.

Nevada Wildfire Awareness Month is a collaborative effort by local, state and federal firefighting agencies; University of Nevada Cooperative Extension; and many others. Events and activities are being held across the state. For more information on Junk the Junipers, contact Sonya Sistare at sistares@unce.unr.edu or 775-336-0271. To learn more about Nevada Wildfire Awareness Month activities, visit www.LivingWithFire.info.