Tree removal in Galena and along the Mt. Rose Highway (89511)

ZIP 89511 climbs from the south end of Reno toward the Sierra. It is the one Reno-area neighborhood on our list in USDA hardiness zone 6b, a half zone colder than the valley floor, and the houses here were built into the trees instead of the other way round.

At a glance

• About 5,634 feet, in hardiness zone 6b
• Median home in ZIP 89511 built in 1997
• 2024 Davis Fire mapped within about 10 miles
• About 26 miles from our yard

Why do trees come out up here?

Three reasons lead. A pine has died, often after drought and bark beetles, and a dead conifer near a house does not get safer with time. A live tree has grown over the roof or the driveway of a home built in the 1990s, when it was half the size. Or the trees are simply too thick, and thinning them is part of making the property defensible against wildfire.

For the first case, read removing dead pines after bark beetles and the page on bark beetles in pines.

What did the Davis Fire change?

It put numbers on something residents already knew. The 2024 Davis Fire is mapped at 5,824 acres, and the 2011 Washoe Drive Fire at 3,178 acres. Both are in the federal perimeter record within about 10 miles of this ZIP. There is no wildfire rating for a ZIP code, so the nearest official figure is the county's: Washoe County's risk to homes ranks higher than 97.2% of US counties (USDA Forest Service).

Removal for fire reasons is planned with the zones in UNR Extension's Living With Fire guide. See defensible space on the Mt. Rose Highway.

Slope, snow and access

Many lots here are steep, with long driveways and the house set below or above the road. On the estimate visit the arborist works out where a truck can stand level, whether the boom can reach, and whether the crane needs to come. Where no machine can set up, a climber takes the tree apart and the pieces are moved by hand or with the track loader.

Winter matters too. Steep driveways hold snow and ice, so tell the office what yours is like when you call.

Homes built into the forest

The American Community Survey puts the median home in ZIP 89511 at 1997, with about 17% built before 1980 and about 42% since 2000 (the figures cover the whole ZIP). Unlike a valley subdivision, the trees were here first. A removal is usually about one tree among many, and the crew has to bring it down without breaking the neighbors standing beside it.

What about the wood?

Brush is chipped and logs are hauled away unless you ask otherwise at the estimate. Stumps stay unless stump grinding is on the estimate.