The status of the material, its proximity to structures or other valuable property, and its contribution to fuels should be assessed to make the decision to remove it.
If combustible erosion-control materials are in contact with other fuels (natural vegetation, etc.), then they should be removed if fire risk or threat is increased. If the area is planted and will be irrigated continually during the fire season, these materials may not pose an additional fire hazard. In some situations where erosion cover material is extensive, it could be removed/retained in alternating strips to maintain some erosion control while reducing fire hazard. Alternatively, if fire hazard is relatively low, partial removal to provide a noncombustible strip adjacent to structures or other property might be sufficient to keep the material from posing a significant fire hazard. Lastly, depending on the local decomposition rate, many natural mulch/chip materials and erosion mats may pose little fire danger if they have decomposed.
