(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Like most of the state, Colorado Springs is no stranger to having an increased fire risk. That’s part of the reason the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) has an annual chipping program to help you reduce your risk.

“Proper mitigation has proven to be one of the greatest chances in order for a home to have better survivability in a wildfire,” said Gregory Stokes, with the CSFD.

Their chipping program is only available to the 143 neighborhoods in wildland-urban interface areas. To participate, you have to at least sign up the week before your neighborhood gets chipped, and meet with the department first.

“They can either schedule a free onsite consultation with us, or attend a neighborhood meeting, or one of our living with wildfire town hall series meetings. The onsite consultations are usually a more tailored approach to a specific property, as to what homeowners can do, what their priorities are for removing hazardous vegetation around their house,” said Stokes.

You can find the chipping schedule and the information to sign up by clicking here.

The department says last year was a record-setting year for their chipping program. Over 6,000 addresses were registered and chipped.