Slash Disposal

A free service from the Island Park Sustainable Fire Community

2026 SLASH PICKUP IS NOW CLOSED FOR THE SEASON
Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make Island Park safer and more wildfire resilient.

THANK YOU, ISLAND PARK!

We thank everyone in Island Park for your continued effort and dedication to reducing wildfire risk throughout our community.



Over the past 10 years, we have picked up 1,395 slash piles!

Every pile represents work by an Island Park landowner to remove hazardous fuels, improve defensible space and help protect our homes, forests and neighbors.

2026 SLASH PICKUP PROGRAM

IPSFC offered free slash pickup services for the 2026 season to eligible landowners in select areas of Island Park. Because of funding and capacity limitations, the program was limited to the first 100 registered landowners.

Registration has now closed and we are no longer accepting slash pickup requests for the 2026 season.

The 2026 program served eligible landowners in the following areas:

  • Lakeview
  • Two Top
  • Baker
  • Bootjack
  • Rasmussen
  • Aspen Ridge
  • Sawtell Estates
  • Sawtelle Mountain
  • Island Park Village
  • Stonegate Area
  • Macks Inn
  • Harris
  • McGee
  • Henderson Pines

Thank you to everyone who registered, prepared their property and participated in this year’s program.
Information about future slash disposal opportunities will be posted here as it becomes available.

Badly Stacked PilePerfectly Stacked Pile

Common Questions

Defensible space is the area surrounding a house or other structure where the vegetation and fuels have been modified, thinned, or removed to slow or stop fire from reaching the building(s), giving firefighters a better opportunity to safely and effectively defend the property.

Creating defensible space rarely involves removing all vegetation and fuels from the landscape, but it does require reduction in flammable vegetation. When properly done, defensible space can help provide you and your property with protection from fire and flying embers.

Slash can be defined as the branches, treetops, bushes, and other woody material less than 7” in diameter that remains after thinning or performing other fuels treatments on a property. Slash does not include dirt or other material such as household garbage, chemicals, plastics, appliances, tree stumps, or large roots. Slash also does not include rocks or construction material such as 2x4s, plywood, etc.

Since slash is no longer living trees or vegetation, it generally becomes very dry and, subsequently, very combustible. Slash is often piled together, and this creates a large, highly flammable concentration of fuel for a fire. These piles are especially dangerous when located next to structures or close to standing trees and bushes because they can provide the dangerous “ladder fuels” that cause fires to climb into the crowns of trees where they become difficult and dangerous to control.

There are several options for removing slash from your property:

  • Take the slash to an approved dump site.
  • Burned under very specific, controlled conditions (see below).
  • Participate in the annual IPSFC slash disposal.

Please contact us at ipsustainablefire@gmail.com or at 208-680-6852 for further questions about slash and how to dispose of it.

  • The State of Idaho requires burn permits from May 10 through October 20. Burning can be limited based on current fire restrictions. It is also illegal to burn garbage and most human-made substances, including: plastic, hazardous waste, paints or painted materials, tires, and trade wastes (produced by a business). These materials emit hazardous pollutants into the air when they are burned and must be taken to a registered landfill.
  • Please visit burnpermits.idaho.gov for more information on how to apply for a burn permit and what restrictions may apply.
  • The Meadow Creek Pit at Valley View is open mid-May though October, 10 am to 3pm Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
  • Please ensure that slash loads do not contain any garbage, appliances, and other non-vegetative material, or we will be unable to accept it. Trash is very costly and time-consuming to relocate.