--- title: Defensible Space in Silver Springs, NV | Battle Born Tree url: https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/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/) - [Silver Springs](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/) - Defensible space and fire mitigation # Defensible space and fire mitigation in Silver Springs, NV Defensible space in Silver Springs is each owner's own job, because homes stand far apart in open desert and the USDA Forest Service rates about 67% of buildings as directly exposed to wildfire. Battle Born Tree Service mows and clears the 100 feet around a home and its outbuildings, about 41 minutes from our Carson City yard. Silver Springs covers about 72 square miles around the junction of US 50 and US 95A, near Lahontan Reservoir, with roughly 2,650 housing units spread across it. A house here is usually ringed by native brush, not by other houses. ## At a glance - About 67% of buildings in the direct wildfire exposure zone - About 56% of homes are manufactured homes - About 15% of households heat mainly with wood, 32% with bottled gas - About 31 miles from our yard on US 50 ## A mixed picture, read honestly Silver Springs does not top any ranking. Its risk to homes sits higher than 87% of US communities, but below the middle for Nevada, at the 41st percentile. Wildfire is less likely here than in Dayton or Virginia City. The exposure figures tell the other half. Of about 3,900 buildings, 67.3% are in the direct zone, 19.2% indirect and 13.5% minimal. Two buildings in three are in the direct zone, where wildland vegetation is close enough to carry flame to them. If a fire does start nearby, the brush around the house decides how it goes. That is why we build this page for Silver Springs. ## The home, the shop and everything else on the lot Rural lots collect buildings: a detached garage, a shop, a well house, a hay shed, a carport. Each needs its own cleared ring, and where two rings nearly meet it makes sense to mow the ground between them as well. At the estimate, our arborist maps the structures and draws one plan around all of them. The machine for it is our Bobcat T870 with a brush mower or masticating head. Larger clearing is on the [Silver Springs lot clearing and brush mowing](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/lot-clearing-brush-mowing/) page. ## Manufactured homes, wood stoves and tanks About 56% of Silver Springs homes are manufactured homes, about 15% of households heat mainly with wood and about 32% use bottled gas (American Community Survey 2020 to 2024). | Item on the lot | What the Living With Fire guide or common practice says | Our part | |---|---|---| | Base of a manufactured home | Zone 0, 0 to 5 feet: no weeds, dead leaves or flammable shrubs | Cut and remove vegetation and debris at the skirting and under decks | | Woodpile | Keep it out of the first 5 feet from the house | Clear brush and grass around the new location | | Propane tank | Ask the supplier or fire agency for the clearance | Cut weeds and brush to the distance they give you | ## Dry enough that dead plants stay dead Valley floors in our service area receive roughly 4 to 10 inches of precipitation a year in NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals. There is no station close enough to the town center for us to quote a single figure. On that little water, a shrub or tree that dies does not rot. It stands dry for years. So the first pass on many lots is simply removing what is already dead: old windbreak trees, abandoned landscaping, brush piles. If you heat with wood, tell the estimator whether you want usable wood left on site. The estimate will say which. ## Which large fires are mapped near Silver Springs? Six perimeter records of 300 acres or more since 1980 have centers within about 10 miles. The closest is the Piper Fire of 2018, 314 acres, centered about 3 miles away. The Virginia Fire of 2006 is mapped at 4,602 acres, the Ramsey Fire of 2000 at 7,621 acres and the Micro Fire of 2017 at 1,549 acres, each centered about 8 miles away. ### 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) - [U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, Silver Springs CDP](https://data.census.gov/) (retrieved October 1, 2026) - [NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, regional valley stations](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/land-based-station/us-climate-normals) (retrieved October 1, 2026) - [National Interagency Fire Center, fire perimeter history (Piper 2018, Virginia 2006, Ramsey 2000, Micro 2017)](https://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/) (retrieved October 1, 2026) - **Drive from our yard:** about 41 min 31.1 miles - **Elevation:** 4,196 ft USGS - **USDA hardiness zone:** 7a 2023 map - **Homes built before 1980:** 32% median year built 1993 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. ### Start here - [About the service: Defensible space and fire mitigation](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/defensible-space-fire-mitigation/) - [Tree service in Silver Springs](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/) - [Fire district: Central Lyon County Fire Protection District](https://battleborntreeservice.com/fire-districts/central-lyon-county-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 - [Silver Springs](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/) - [Lot clearing and brush mowing in Silver Springs](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/lot-clearing-brush-mowing/) - [Defensible space and fire mitigation in Stagecoach](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/stagecoach/defensible-space/) - [Masticating](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/masticating/) - [Wildfire risk to homes by community in Northern Nevada](https://battleborntreeservice.com/data/wildfire-risk-by-community/) - [What happens to the wood and chips after a tree job](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/what-happens-to-wood-and-chips/) ## 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 Silver Springs [Tree removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/tree-removal/) [Tree trimming and pruning](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/tree-trimming/) [Stump grinding](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/stump-grinding/) [Emergency tree service](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/emergency-tree-service/) [Lot clearing and brush mowing](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/lot-clearing-brush-mowing/) [Crane-assisted tree removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/crane-tree-removal/) [Certified arborist](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/arborist/) [Firewood](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/silver-springs/firewood/) ## Defensible space and fire mitigation in nearby towns [Dayton](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/dayton/defensible-space/) [Virginia City](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/virginia-city/defensible-space/) [Stagecoach](https://battleborntreeservice.com/service-areas/stagecoach/defensible-space/) ## Defensible space and fire mitigation questions in Silver Springs Still have a question? Call [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243). Phones are answered seven days a week. ### Is wildfire risk in Silver Springs really lower than in Dayton? By the Forest Service ranking, yes: 87.2% nationally against Dayton's 98.9%. But a larger share of Silver Springs buildings are directly exposed, 67% against 27%, so the brush around each home matters more. ### Can you clear around several buildings in one visit? Yes. The plan covers the house and every outbuilding you want protected, and the estimate lists them. ### Do I need a permit for brush mowing in Silver Springs? Our research found no Lyon County permit rule for trees on private property. For clearing that involves grading, ask the county. ### How far is Silver Springs from Carson City? About 31 miles from our yard, about 41 minutes without traffic, east on US 50 through Dayton and Stagecoach.