Lot clearing and brush mowing in Palomino Valley and along Pyramid Highway (89510)

This is the most rural ground we serve in Washoe County, about 53.6 miles and about 67 minutes from our Carson City yard without traffic. About 96% of homes are owner-occupied (American Community Survey, ZIP 89510; a small sample, so approximate).

At a glance

• ZIP 89510: about 680 homes on about 597 square miles
• About 28% of households heat mainly with wood
• Winnemucca Ranch Fire (2017, 4,799 acres) mapped about 2.4 miles away
• About 67 minutes from our yard: scoped and done in one trip

Which part of a big parcel is worth clearing?

The part that protects what you have built. On rangeland parcels the brush runs to the horizon, and cutting all of it would be pointless and bad for the land. The University of Nevada, Reno Extension's Living With Fire guide says removing all vegetation is not good for ecosystem health and can lead to more invasive weeds and grasses such as cheatgrass.

The work is drawn as a set of shapes around the things that matter.

Why the driveway gets its own line

On a rural parcel the driveway is the way in and the way out. Brush growing tight against it will burn against it. A strip mowed along each side keeps the lane usable, and it doubles as a break that splits the fuel on the property in two. The arborist will suggest a width that suits the brush height and the ground.

Wood heat and the woodpile

About 28% of households in ZIP 89510 heat mainly with wood, the highest share of any place in our service area and far above the roughly 1% for Washoe County as a whole. Stacked firewood is fuel sitting next to the house. The Living With Fire guide lists woodpiles among the things to remove from the first 5 feet around a home.

When we lay out a mowed band, the woodpile's spot is part of the conversation: away from the walls, on cleared ground.

What does the fire record show out here?

The National Interagency Fire Center maps the Winnemucca Ranch Fire of 2017 at 4,799 acres, centred about 2.4 miles from our 89510 reference point. The Bedel Flat Fire of 1985 is mapped at 9,501 acres, about 5.7 miles away, and the Perry Fire of 2018 at 51,386 acres, about 8.3 miles away.

The ZIP has no Forest Service community rating. For Washoe County, the Forest Service ranks risk to homes higher than 97.2% of US counties. A volunteer-network rain gauge about 3 miles from our reference point (Reno 22.2 NNE) averages about 9 inches of precipitation a year in the NOAA normals.

Planning a job more than an hour from the yard

Distance makes the scope matter. Describe the parcel when you call 775.232.8243: where the buildings are, how long the driveway is, what the road in is like and whether a truck and trailer can turn around. The arborist visits for a free estimate, and the work is planned so the machine is hauled out once and the job is finished before it is hauled home.

Messages left with the office are returned within 8 hours.