Emergency tree service in Glenbrook, NV

Glenbrook lies just below Spooner Summit on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, on the same highway as our yard. It is the Tahoe community we can reach in the least driving, and it is one where almost every building has forest on all sides.

At a glance

• The shortest drive of any Tahoe community we serve: about 31 minutes without traffic
• About 99% of Glenbrook buildings are in the direct wildfire exposure zone, in or beside the forest
• About three in four households heat with bottled gas, so tell us where the propane tank is
• The Glenbrook weather station averages 18.46 inches of precipitation a year

Why is nearly every Glenbrook house within reach of a tree?

The USDA Forest Service puts about 99% of Glenbrook's buildings in the direct exposure zone, which means they stand in or right beside wildland vegetation. No other community in our service area has a higher share. There are no open blocks here. A tall conifer that fails in Glenbrook is very likely to hit a house, a garage, a road or a line.

Water is part of the reason trees fail. The Glenbrook station averages 18.46 inches of precipitation a year, about double the 9.34 inches at the Carson City station on the other side of the summit (NOAA 1991-2020 normals). Wet soil holds roots less firmly, and wet snow weighs on limbs.

Tell us about the propane tank

The Census Bureau's survey shows about three in four Glenbrook households heating with bottled gas (ACS 2020-2024, a small sample, so treat it as approximate). When you call, say where the tank and its line are and whether the tree is near them. If you smell gas, leave the area and call 911 before anything else.

The same goes for anything the crew cannot see from the road: a septic lid, a buried line to an outbuilding, a dock path. It helps us decide where the crane can set up and where the wood can land.

Getting in

If your road is private or gated, let the office know how the crew gets in, whether a large truck has been down your road before, and whether a fallen tree or snow is blocking the way in. Clearing roads and driveways is part of our emergency service, and it is sometimes the first job before the tree on the house can be reached.

What does the crew do when it arrives?

An arborist looks at the tree, the structure and the surroundings first. Then the work is the list from our emergency service: tree and limb removal, cabling and stabilization where a damaged tree has to be held, clearing the road or driveway, and collection and disposal of the debris. A trunk lying on a roof is usually lifted off in sections with the crane instead of being cut and rolled.

After severe storms our existing clients come first. We are equipped to help anyone in need, and we do.

Is a permit needed?

A dead tree that could fall on a house does not need a Tahoe Regional Planning Agency permit. Live trees over 14 inches in diameter at breast height do, and on lakeshore lots the size is 6 inches between the house and the lake. For a damaged live tree, photograph it and ask TRPA or the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District. The agency decides.