Defensible space and fire mitigation in Palomino Valley, NV

ZIP 89510 covers the Palomino Valley and the country along Pyramid Highway north of Spanish Springs. The Census counts about 680 housing units in a ZIP of roughly 600 square miles, so most homes stand alone in open rangeland with no neighbor's cleared yard to help.

At a glance

• Brush mower and masticating head on our own Bobcat T870
• About 28% of ZIP 89510 households heat mainly with wood
• Washoe County: risk to homes higher than 97.2% of US counties
• About 54 miles and 67 minutes from our yard, without traffic

Why is this a machine job here?

On a small city lot, defensible space is hand work with a saw and a rake. On a Palomino Valley parcel the 30 to 100 foot zone around the house, shop and barn can cover more than an acre, and what grows there is sagebrush, rabbitbrush and grass. That is work for a track loader with a brush mower or a masticating head, which grinds standing brush into coarse mulch where it stands.

The difference between the two attachments is covered in mastication vs brush mowing vs hand clearing. The arborist who walks the property decides which one fits the ground and tells you in the estimate.

What do the fire numbers say for ZIP 89510?

The USDA Forest Service publishes wildfire figures for Census places, and Palomino Valley is a ZIP, not a place, so it has no record of its own. The honest stand-in is Washoe County, where risk to homes is rated higher than 97.2% of US counties.

The fire record is local. The National Interagency Fire Center has 19 perimeter records of 300 acres or more, since 1980, with centers mapped within about 10 miles of the valley. They include the Perry Fire of 2018, mapped at 51,386 acres with its center about 8 miles away, the Winnemucca Ranch Fire of 2017 at 4,799 acres with its center about 2 miles away, and the Bedell Flat Fire of 1985 at 9,501 acres.

Woodpiles and propane tanks

About 28% of households in the ZIP heat mainly with wood and about 40% with bottled gas (American Community Survey, a small sample, so approximate). Both leave something in the yard that matters in a fire.

The Living With Fire guide from University of Nevada, Reno Extension lists woodpiles among the things to keep out of Zone 0, the first 5 feet from the house. Moving the stack is your job. Clearing the brush and dry grass around its new spot, and around the propane tank, is something we can add to the work. Ask your propane supplier or fire agency what clearance the tank itself needs.

What a visit covers

• 0 to 5 feet: remove junipers, sage and dead plants against the house and the outbuildings.
• 5 to 30 feet: take out dead shrubs and trees, and prune dead wood from the trees that stay.
• 30 to 100 feet: mow or masticate brush, limb up any trees so a ground fire cannot climb into them.
• Driveway and gate: cut brush back along the access so a fire engine has room, if you want that included.

Larger clearing work is described on the Palomino Valley lot clearing and brush mowing page.

A long drive, so plan one trip

Palomino Valley is about 67 minutes from our Carson City yard without traffic, the far north end of where we work. Hauling a track loader that far makes sense when the whole list is done in one visit: the house, the shop, the hay barn and the driveway. Walk the property before the estimate and write down everything you want looked at.

A gauge in the valley (Reno 22.2 NNE) averages about 9 inches of precipitation a year in NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals. Brush grows back slowly on that, but cheatgrass and other annuals return every spring, so the close-in zones need yearly attention.