Emergency tree service in Lemmon Valley, NV

Lemmon Valley is older and more spread out than the subdivisions around it. The median home dates from 1979, about 96% of homes are owner-occupied, and the Census counts roughly 1,900 homes across about 16 square miles. People here have room, outbuildings and trees that have had 45 years to grow.

At a glance

• About 53% of Lemmon Valley homes were built before 1980
• Wildfire risk to homes higher than 99.2% of US communities (USFS)
• 2014 Bobcat T870 track loader for moving heavy wood
• About 48 minutes from our Carson City yard without traffic

What kind of emergency is typical on a large lot?

Access. On a rural lot the house may be a long way from the road, and one tree down across the drive cuts off the household and every delivery. Clearing roads and driveways has been part of our storm work from the beginning.

The second kind is the outbuilding. A big limb on a shop, a barn or a fence line is less urgent than one on a bedroom, but it still has to be taken off without bringing the roof down with it. Tell the office which building it is and whether animals are involved.

Why we bring the loader

Mature trees make heavy wood, and on a large lot it may have to travel a long way to the truck. Our 2014 Bobcat T870 track loader carries trunk sections that would otherwise be cut small and hauled by hand. Where a tree is over a structure, the crane or the 75-foot boom truck does the lifting. All of it is our own equipment.

The highest fire ranking in the North Valleys

The USDA Forest Service ranks Lemmon Valley's wildfire risk to homes higher than 99.2% of US communities and 93% of Nevada communities. About 45% of buildings are in the direct exposure zone. The 2020 Poeville Road Fire, mapped at 2,973 acres, has its mapped center about 4 miles away.

That ranking is the reason not to leave a storm-killed tree where it fell. Dry branches near a house are fuel. Hauling is part of the job, and if the storm exposed how much dead material is on the lot, defensible space work in Lemmon Valley is the next conversation.

Snow and cold on record

The Stead station, about 2.3 miles from the center of Lemmon Valley, averages 16.7 inches of snowfall a year and a mean temperature of 51.0 degrees (NOAA 1991-2020 normals). FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washoe County's winter weather risk as Very High.

What to do before we get there

• Call 911 for any injury
• Stay away from wires and from fences a wire may be touching, and call NV Energy
• Move animals away from the tree if you can do it without going under it
• Do not drive around the tree across soft ground if the trunk is still hung up
• Call 775.232.8243 and describe the access

The drive from our Carson City yard is about 41 miles, 48 minutes when the roads are clear. That is an estimate of distance, not a commitment to a time.