Tree removal in Lemmon Valley, NV

Lemmon Valley is an older North Valleys community of about 4,400 people. The median home was built in 1979, about 96% are owner-occupied, and the trees have had more than 40 years to grow up around them.

At a glance

• Risk to homes higher than 99.2% of US communities (USDA Forest Service)
• About 53% of homes built before 1980
• 2020 Poeville Road Fire mapped within about 10 miles
• Crane-assisted removal available

Which trees should come out first?

Start with anything dead. A dead tree is dry fuel, and it sheds limbs without warning. Next come trees whose branches touch or overhang the roof, and conifers crowded so close that fire could move from crown to crown. UNR Extension's Living With Fire guide calls the first 5 feet from the house Zone 0 and the next 25 feet Zone 1. Trees in those two zones get the hardest look.

The arborist walks the property and marks which trees to remove and which to prune. More on the Lemmon Valley defensible space page.

What does the fire record show?

The 2020 Poeville Road Fire, mapped at 2,973 acres, and the 1999 Reservoir Fire, mapped at 6,163 acres, both have a mapped centre within about 4 miles of Lemmon Valley. In all, 27 fires of 300 acres or more are mapped within about 10 miles since 1980. Within Nevada, the Forest Service ranks Lemmon Valley's risk to homes above about 93% of communities.

Mature trees around 1970s homes

According to the American Community Survey, about 53% of Lemmon Valley homes went up before 1980 (a small community, so the figure is approximate). Shade trees and windbreak rows from that era are now tall, and some have been topped or left unpruned for years. A tree like that near a house, a shop or a propane tank is not something to take on with a ladder.

Large removals here use the 75-foot boom truck or the crane, depending on what the arborist finds.

Room to work

Some Lemmon Valley parcels are large, with outbuildings, animals and unpaved drives. Tell the office about gates, livestock and soft ground when you call. Where there is space, logs can be moved with the track loader and brush chipped close to where it falls, which keeps the job short.

After the trees are down

Brush left on the ground is still fuel, so everything is chipped or hauled. If the lot also has heavy sagebrush or weeds, ask about brush mowing while the equipment is there. Stumps can be ground on request.