Tree removal in Silver Springs, NV

Silver Springs sits at the crossing of US Highway 50 and US 95A in Lyon County, near Lahontan Reservoir, at about 4,200 feet. Its roughly 2,650 homes are scattered over a very large area, more than half of them manufactured homes, and about 15% of households heat mainly with wood.

At a glance

• About 2,650 homes spread over about 72 square miles
• About 67% of buildings in the direct wildfire exposure zone
• About 15% of households heat mainly with wood
• About 31 miles from our yard, about 41 minutes without traffic

What should I tell the office about access?

More than you think is needed. On acreage served by dirt roads, small details decide which machine can do the job.

• Whether the road and driveway are graded, sandy or rutted, and how they hold up after rain
• Gate width, cattle guards and any low wires or branches over the drive
• How close a heavy truck can get to the tree on firm ground
• Where the septic tank, leach field, well and propane tank are
• What stands within the tree's height: home, shop, fence, animals' pens

With that, the arborist arrives at the estimate knowing what to look for. A loaded chip truck and a crane are heavy, and soft sand is the one thing an open desert lot has plenty of. Where a truck cannot go, the 2014 Bobcat T870 track loader can, carrying brush and logs back out to firm ground.

When does a Silver Springs tree need the crane?

When it is large, close to a building and cannot be climbed, or when lowering pieces by rope would take them over a roof. An old shade tree planted tight against a home can fit that description. The crane holds each section while it is cut, then swings it to a clear spot. Details are on crane-assisted tree removal in Silver Springs.

Plenty of removals here need nothing so large. A tree standing alone in the open, away from structures, is simpler work, and the estimate will reflect that.

What do the wildfire figures show?

A split picture. The USDA Forest Service ranks Silver Springs' overall risk to homes higher than about 87% of US communities, lower than most towns we serve. Yet about 67% of its buildings are in the direct exposure zone, meaning they stand among vegetation that can burn right up to them. Scattered homes in brush explain both numbers.

The 2018 Piper Fire, mapped at 314 acres, was centered about 3 miles away. The 2000 Ramsey Fire (7,621 acres) and the 2006 Virginia Fire (4,602 acres) were mapped within about 8 miles. A dead tree in the yard is the tallest piece of fuel on the property. Removing it belongs with the brush work described under defensible space in Silver Springs.

Why do trees die here?

Valley floors in this part of Nevada receive roughly 4 to 10 inches of precipitation a year, by NOAA's 1991-2020 station normals. No station with normals lies close enough to Silver Springs for us to quote a figure for the community itself. The practical point is the same: a shade tree lives on irrigation, and when that stops it declines. How to tell if a tree is dead or dying shows what to check before you call.

Wood, chips and stumps

With about 15% of households heating with wood, you may want to keep the trunk wood. Say so at the estimate. Chips can be hauled or left. Stump grinding in Silver Springs can be added to the same visit.