Orinda homeowners have spent nearly $1 million of their own money clearing fire fuel from their properties, leveraging a city reimbursement program that has now committed more than half its budget.

The city's Measure R At-A-Glance Report for June 2026, published Wednesday, July 15, shows the Fire Fuel Reduction Incentive Program has approved $215,461 in reimbursements to 309 homeowners. Those residents self-reported spending $967,375 total on vegetation removal work, averaging $3,131 per applicant. The city's average reimbursement: $697.

The numbers mean residents are investing roughly $4.49 in private spending for every $1 the city pays back.

The program draws from a $400,000 Measure R incentive fund that is now 55.1% committed, with $179,600 remaining. Twenty-seven homeowners have applied for a second reimbursement, and three have come back a third time.

Chipper service holds steady

Orinda's free chipper pickup service completed 148 collections in June 2026, removing 456 cubic yards of vegetation, according to the report. Both figures dipped slightly from June 2025, when crews handled 152 pickups and hauled away 688 cubic yards.

Year-to-date through June, the chipper program has completed 598 pickups and removed 2,152 cubic yards of fire fuel. Residents can schedule pickups at reserve.chipperday.com/orinda.

Measure R sales tax funds the work

Orinda voters approved Measure R on November 3, 2020. The one-half-cent-per-dollar sales tax generates approximately $2.4 million annually over 20 years for wildfire risk reduction, emergency preparation, storm drain repair, and street maintenance. A citizens' oversight committee and annual independent audit are required.

The spending carries weight because Orinda has 5,241 acres designated as Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone by the state fire marshal, more than double the 2,424 acres listed in 2011. Residents are legally required to maintain 100 feet of defensible space around their properties.

"We have put tools in place to make it as easy as we possibly can for people to clear vegetation on their properties," Melanie Light, chair of the Supplemental Sales Tax Oversight Commission, said in August 2023 when discussing the program's design. "People are busy. The fire department nor the city can go onto people's property and do the work for them."

Emergency alert enrollment

The report also includes emergency notification enrollment figures. As of February 3, 2026, the most recent snapshot available, Orinda had 18,301 registered text accounts with Nixle (the Orinda Police Department's alert system) and 14,130 accounts with the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office-operated Community Warning System.

Residents can sign up for Nixle alerts by texting their zip code to 888777 and register for the Community Warning System at CWSAlerts.com.