Nearly 25 tons of brush, trees and other organic waste were removed by residents in the Kensington and Talmadge communities during the Kensington Fire Safe Council’s semi-annual dump-a-thon. The event has been running for 13 years, but this was the first collaboration with San Diego Fire-Rescue and the City’s Environmental Services Department. Together, they provided the necessary permits and costs associated with the placement, removal, and disposal of nearly a dozen large, roll-off dumpsters at select locations throughout the neighborhood. 

“This one is the first we’ve done in partnership with the San Diego Fire Department and the City and it’s worked really well this time,” said Mike Baldwin, a Kensington resident and board member of the Kensington Fire Safe Council. “Made it much easier for me to focus on getting material in the bins instead of getting the bins here.”

Baldwin has organized the dump-a-thon events for the last few years on behalf of the local Fire Safe Council. In years past, the organization would raise money to pay for the placement and removal of dumpers so that residents could clear brush near their homes. He said the community typically hosts two events per year and already have plans for another in the fall. 

“We’re trying to do our best to give firefighters a chance to defend our homes when that day comes,” Baldwin said, touching on the city’s year-round wildfire risk. 

San Diego Fire-Rescue (SDFD) has earmarked funding for up to a dozen dump-a-thons throughout the city this year, with a similar event planned for June in the Golden Hill community. Funding comes from San Diego County’s Regional Resilience Grant program, which aims to work with communities facing high fire risk. Kensington is one of the many communities in San Diego located within a Very High Fire Severity Zone, with many properties backing up and extending down into nearby canyons. 

“When it comes to getting ready for wildfire, it takes everybody,” said Assistant Fire Marshal Alex Kane. “A lot of the things we can do are the low-cost, high-impact things to protect our homes from wildfire. We’re just going around showing residents what they can do, and the community is taking action.” 

As part of the two-week dump-a-thon, SDFD firefighters spent a Saturday educating and fielding questions from Kensington and Talmadge residents about what they can do to better protect their homes in the event of a wildfire. 

“What we’ve found is that up to 90% of homes that burn down during a wildfire are lost because of wind-driven embers,” Kane said. “The most vulnerable areas are those first five feet around the home. Removing vegetation, flammable ground covering and other materials in that area is key to helping reduce your fire risk.”  

As an added bonus to the community cleanup, the 25 tons of debris removed by residents were diverted from the Miramar landfill and recycled into sustainable materials, part of the City’s organic waste recycling program. 

“We’re able to take this to our organic processing facility, where this will be turned into woodchips, mulch and compost that will go back into our community,” said Franklin Coopersmith, Deputy Director of the City’s Environmental Services Department. “We were able to cut the red tape and ultimately make it so that these critical events cost nothing for the community.” 

The County-administered grant funds help cover the costs of City staff time associated with placing and removing the large, roll-off dumpsters.  

SDFD works to support local communities and more than 20 Fire Safe Councils to prepare for wildfires. In addition to events like these, they also offer personalized on-site assessments to help homeowners understand their property’s wildfire risk and recommended home hardening solutions. To learn more, visit the department’s Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation webpage.