--- title: Defensible Space in Kingsbury, NV | Battle Born Tree url: https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/defensible-space/ business: Battle Born Tree Service address: 6301 US Highway 50 East, Carson City, NV 89701 phone: 775.232.8243 hours: Office Monday-Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm; phones answered seven days a week; 24-hour emergency service credentials: ISA Certified Arborist WE-11728A on staff; Nevada Business License # 20131580674; fully insured type: Tree service (removal, crane work, pruning, stump grinding, defensible space, snow removal, firewood) --- - [Home](https://battleborntreeservice.com/) - [Service areas](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/) - [Kingsbury](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/) - Defensible space and fire mitigation # Defensible space and fire mitigation in Kingsbury, NV Defensible space in Kingsbury is slope work with a short season: the lots climb Kingsbury Grade to about 7,100 feet, and the ground is open for only part of the year. Battle Born Tree Service thins, limbs up and clears by hand and with a chipper once the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District has evaluated the property. Not one building in Kingsbury is rated as minimally exposed to wildfire by the USDA Forest Service. Slightly more than half are in the direct zone and the rest are in the indirect zone. On a mountainside, that makes the downhill side of every house the place to look first. ## At a glance - 0% of buildings rated minimal exposure; 53% direct, 47% indirect - Gondola Fire (2002) mapped with its center under 2 miles away - About half the housing is attached: condos and townhomes - Daggett Pass station: about 21.8 inches of precipitation a year ## Why does the downhill side come first? Fire travels uphill faster than it does on flat ground, because the flames lean into the fuel above them and dry it. A house on Kingsbury Grade with a deck hanging over a brushy, tree-covered slope has its greatest exposure below it. The Living With Fire guide's zones are measured out from the house in every direction: 0 to 5 feet, 5 to 30 feet and 30 to 100 feet. On a slope lot we put the first hours into the downhill arc of those rings: brush and dead wood out, small trees thinned, low limbs removed so a ground fire stays on the ground. The space under the deck is cleared of needles and anything stored there is yours to move. ## A short working season The Daggett Pass weather station at the top of the grade sits at 7,334 feet and averages about 21.8 inches of precipitation a year, with a mean annual temperature of about 43 degrees (NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals). Much of that precipitation arrives as snow, and steep driveways can stay closed to a chip truck well into spring. That squeezes defensible space work into the months between snowmelt and the next storm season, the same months when everyone else on the mountain wants it done. Ask for the free estimate early in the year. We do not promise dates, but an estimate in hand is the first step to getting on the schedule. ## Townhomes, condos and common area Fewer than half of Kingsbury's housing units are single-family detached houses (about 49%, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024). In an attached complex the forest between and below the buildings is common area, and the association orders the work. One fire district evaluation and one arborist's plan can then cover every building, which is simpler to organize than a dozen separate visits and leaves no untreated gap between neighbors. More on that at [tree service for HOAs and property managers](https://battleborntreeservice.com/who-we-serve/hoas-and-property-managers/). ## What the permit rules allow Thinning small trees is the heart of slope work, and most of them fall under the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's permit line: the permit applies to live trees over 14 inches in diameter at breast height. Dead wood can be pruned at any height. Live branches in the upper two-thirds of a tree need a permit, apart from limbs near structures or in conflict with utilities. Larger live trees that crowd the house go through the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, which evaluates properties and issues defensible space tree permits for the Nevada south shore. The agency decides. If the result includes big removals next to a building, see [tree removal in Kingsbury](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/tree-removal/). ## How close have fires come? The National Interagency Fire Center maps the Gondola Fire of 2002 at 643 acres with its center about 1.6 miles from the middle of Kingsbury. The Walley's Fire of 1984 (316 acres) and the Autumn Hills Fire of 1996 (3,805 acres) are mapped with centers about 3 and 4 miles away. Nationally, risk to homes in Kingsbury ranks higher than 97.9% of communities. ### Sources - [USDA Forest Service, Wildfire Risk to Communities](https://wildfirerisk.org/download/) (April 2026 data) - [University of Nevada, Reno Extension: Living With Fire defensible space guide (SP-23-07)](https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=5522) (read October 1, 2026) - [Tahoe Regional Planning Agency: Trees and Defensible Space](https://www.trpa.gov/trees-and-defensible-space/) (read October 1, 2026) - [NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, Daggett Pass station](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/land-based-station/us-climate-normals) (retrieved October 1, 2026) - [U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, Kingsbury CDP](https://data.census.gov/) (retrieved October 1, 2026) - [National Interagency Fire Center, fire perimeter history (Gondola 2002, Walley's 1984, Autumn Hills 1996)](https://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/) (retrieved October 1, 2026) - **Drive from our yard:** about 48 min 33.3 miles - **Elevation:** 7,126 ft USGS - **USDA hardiness zone:** 7a 2023 map - **Homes built before 1980:** 68% median year built 1976 Sources: drive time from our yard at 6301 US Highway 50 East, free-flow, OSRM / Census Geocoder; elevation, USGS 3DEP; hardiness zone, USDA 2023 map; housing figures, U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 five-year estimates; wildfire risk, USDA Forest Service Wildfire Risk to Communities (April 2026 data). Retrieved October 1, 2026. ### Rules here TRPA permit: live trees over 14 inches in diameter at 4.5 feet; live branches in the upper two-thirds of a tree, with exceptions for structures, utilities and dead wood. Defensible space evaluations and tree permits: Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District. ### Start here - [About the service: Defensible space and fire mitigation](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/defensible-space-fire-mitigation/) - [Tree service in Kingsbury](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/) - [Fire district: Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District](https://battleborntreeservice.com/fire-districts/tahoe-douglas-fpd/) ### Talk to the office [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243) | Monday to Friday | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm | |---|---| | Saturday and Sunday | Office closed, phones answered | Phones answered seven days a week. 24-hour emergency service. [Free estimate](#quote) ### Related - [Kingsbury](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/) - [Tree removal in Kingsbury](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/tree-removal/) - [Tree service for HOAs and property managers](https://battleborntreeservice.com/who-we-serve/hoas-and-property-managers/) - [Free wood chips: uses and limits in a fire-prone yard](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/free-wood-chips-uses-limits/) - [Ladder fuels and limbing up](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/ladder-fuels-limbing-up/) - [Defensible space and fire mitigation in Zephyr Cove](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/zephyr-cove/defensible-space/) ### Tahoe tree permit check: measure your tree In the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) requires a permit to remove a live tree over 14 inches in diameter at breast height (4.5 feet up the trunk). On lakeshore lots the limit is 6 inches for trees between the house and the lake. Wrap a tape around the trunk at 4.5 feet and enter the number. Distance around the trunk (inches) Where is the tree? Not between the house and the lake Lakeshore lot, between the house and the lake Enter the measurement to see the diameter. This is a measuring aid, not a ruling. TRPA and your fire protection district decide. A dead tree that could fall on a house does not need a TRPA permit. [TRPA tree rules](https://www.trpa.gov/trees-and-defensible-space/) ## The three defensible space zones - Zone 0: 0 to 5 feet. Ember-resistant zone. Nothing that burns against the house: clear dead leaves and needles, move firewood away, cut back branches that touch walls or hang over the roof. - Zone 1: 5 to 30 feet. Lean, clean and green. Remove dead plants and ladder fuels, limb up trees, and break up continuous shrubs such as junipers. - Zone 2: 30 to 100 feet. Reduced fuel. Thin crowded trees and brush so fire stays on the ground and slows down. This is where the brush mower and masticator work. Zones from the University of Nevada, Reno Extension Living With Fire guide (2023). Your fire protection district may set its own rules. ## Other services in Kingsbury [Tree removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/tree-removal/) [Tree trimming and pruning](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/tree-trimming/) [Stump grinding](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/stump-grinding/) [Emergency tree service](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/emergency-tree-service/) [Crane-assisted tree removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/crane-tree-removal/) [Certified arborist](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/arborist/) [Snow removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/kingsbury/snow-removal/) ## Defensible space and fire mitigation in nearby towns [Incline Village](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/incline-village/defensible-space/) [Crystal Bay](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/crystal-bay/defensible-space/) [Glenbrook](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/glenbrook/defensible-space/) [Zephyr Cove](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/zephyr-cove/defensible-space/) [Round Hill Village](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/round-hill-village/defensible-space/) [Skyland](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/skyland/defensible-space/) ## Defensible space and fire mitigation questions in Kingsbury Still have a question? Call [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243). Phones are answered seven days a week. ### Can you work on a steep lot in Kingsbury? Yes. Where a truck or loader cannot go, the crew works on foot with saws and carries or drags material to the chipper. The arborist checks footing and access at the estimate. ### When should I book defensible space work in Kingsbury? Ask for the estimate as early in the year as you can. The work itself needs bare ground and an open driveway, and that window is short at 7,100 feet. ### Does my Kingsbury HOA need its own evaluation? Common area belongs to the association, so the association requests the fire district evaluation for it. Owners of detached homes request their own. ### Do you leave the chips on the slope? Tell the estimator what you want. Chips are not placed within 5 feet of a building, since the Living With Fire guide asks for no wood mulch there. Our guide to wood chips in a fire-prone yard covers the rest.