Lot clearing and brush mowing in Genoa, NV

Genoa sits against the east face of the Carson Range, with valley pasture on one side and brush-covered slope on the other. Our yard on US Highway 50 East in Carson City is about 20 miles away, about 27 minutes without traffic.

At a glance

• About 75% of Genoa buildings in the direct wildfire exposure zone
• Machine mowing on the flats, hand cutting on the slope
• Roughly 9 acres of census land per housing unit
• A certified arborist marks the trees that stay

Why does the uphill side of a Genoa lot matter most?

Because that is where the fuel is. The Forest Service counts a building as directly exposed when it stands in or beside vegetation that can burn, and it puts 75.4% of Genoa's buildings in that group and none in its minimal exposure group. Risk to homes here ranks higher than 97.4% of US communities.

On a foothill parcel the work starts at the house and moves out and up. Sagebrush and bitterbrush are thinned into separate clumps, dead brush comes out, and the low limbs of the trees you keep are raised so a ground fire stays on the ground. Our defensible space page for Genoa explains the zones.

Where can the Bobcat work, and where is it hand work?

Our 2014 Bobcat T870 track loader carries a brush mower and a masticating head. It is the right tool for the flatter part of a lot, a pasture edge, a long driveway shoulder or a fence line.

Ground that climbs steeply, sits among boulders or is boxed in by a house and a retaining wall is cut by the crew on foot, and the brush is fed through the chipper. Most Genoa jobs on the west side of town use both methods. The arborist decides which goes where during the free estimate.

How much room is there to clear?

More than the old town center suggests. The Census Bureau counts about 640 housing units in a Genoa area of about 9.2 square miles, which works out to roughly 9 acres of land per housing unit, open ground included. About 41% of homes were built in 2000 or later, many of them on parcels outside the original townsite (ACS 2020-2024; a small community, so the figures are approximate).

For a new home site, clearing the pad and the first 100 feet around it in a single visit makes sense. See lot clearing for how a building lot is handled.

What fires have been mapped near Genoa?

Six perimeter records of 300 acres or more since 1980 have a mapped center within about 10 miles. The closest is the Walley's Fire of 1984, mapped at 316 acres with its center about 2 miles from town. The Autumn Hills Fire of 1996 is mapped at 3,805 acres.

Those numbers are the reason yearly mowing is worth planning. Grass and weeds come back each season, so many owners book the same strip every year before it cures.