Defensible space in Galena and along the Mt. Rose Highway (89511)

The Mt. Rose Highway climbs out of the sagebrush into pine forest, and the middle of ZIP 89511 sits at about 5,634 feet. Homes here stand among native trees instead of planted ones, which changes the job.

At a glance

• Davis Fire (2024, 5,824 acres) centred about 4.4 miles away
• Arrowcreek Fire (2000, 2,788 acres) centred about 3.3 miles away
• Pine needles in Zone 2 kept under 3 inches deep (Living With Fire guide)
• About 26 miles from our Carson City yard

What does the Living With Fire guide say about pines?

The University of Nevada, Reno Extension guide has specific advice for pine country. Within 5 feet of the house, remove pine needles along with wood mulch, junipers and dead leaves. From 5 to 30 feet, remove all pine needles once in the spring. From 30 to 100 feet, do not let needles on the ground get deeper than 3 inches, and remove ladder fuels, the low growth that lets fire climb from the ground to the tree tops.

Those three instructions describe most of a Galena job.

What are ladder fuels on a forested lot?

Low limbs, brush under the trees and young pines growing up into the crowns of older ones. The fix is to lift the lower limbs, clear the brush from under the drip line and thin the small trees so each crown has room.

Our guide to ladder fuels and limbing up explains the idea. We do the cutting. Climbing and saw work near a house is not a homeowner job.

• Lower limbs lifted on the trees that stay
• Brush removed or separated beneath the canopy
• Crowded small conifers thinned
• Dead and beetle-killed trees taken out

Dead pines come first

A dead conifer is dry fuel standing next to the house, and it gets more brittle the longer it stands. If a pine has gone brown from the top or dropped its needles, have an arborist look at it. Our pages on bark beetles in pines and removing dead pines cover what to look for. We identify and remove. We do not spray or treat.

Three fires within about 5 miles

National Interagency Fire Center perimeters put the Arrowcreek Fire of 2000 (2,788 acres) about 3.3 miles from the centre of the ZIP, the Washoe Drive Fire of 2011 (3,178 acres) about 4.1 miles and the Davis Fire of 2024 (5,824 acres) about 4.4 miles. The ZIP has no Forest Service record of its own. Washoe County's risk to homes ranks higher than 97.2% of US counties.

Slope, snow and access

Lots here are often on a grade, with long driveways. The arborist checks during the free estimate where the chipper and trucks can stand and whether the Bobcat can work the slope. Winter closes some of that access, so the practical season for machine work is after the snow is gone. For larger parcels see lot clearing and brush mowing in Galena.