Tree service in Spanish Springs, NV

Spanish Springs is a valley of about 18,000 people northeast of Sparks along the Pyramid Highway. The Forest Service data for it contains one number worth stopping on: zero.

What does the wildfire data say about Spanish Springs?

It says no building in the community is rated minimal exposure. The USDA Forest Service's Wildfire Risk to Communities data puts 32% of Spanish Springs buildings in the direct exposure zone and the other 68% in the indirect zone. Nothing is left over.

The community's risk to homes ranks above 98.6% of US communities and above about 88% of Nevada communities. Its wildfire likelihood ranks above 98.8% nationally.

Twenty-six perimeters of 300 acres or more are mapped with a center point within about 10 miles since 1980. The Reservoir Fire of 1999, mapped at 6,163 acres, is centered under 4 miles from the middle of the valley. The Pah Rah Fire of 1999 is mapped at 10,603 acres, the Winnemucca Ranch Fire of 2017 at 4,799 acres and the Prater Fire of 2017 at 2,700 acres.

What does that mean for a Spanish Springs lot?

For the third of homes in the direct zone, usually those backing onto open range, it means keeping the brush and grass beyond the fence short and broken up. That is brush mowing, and it is seasonal work because grass grows back.

For the other two-thirds, it means the house itself: embers land in gutters, mulch, juniper hedges and wood stacked against a wall. Defensible space in Spanish Springs starts with the first 5 feet around the building, the zone UNR Extension's Living With Fire guide calls Zone 0.

A valley of new houses and young trees

Only about 4% of Spanish Springs homes were built before 1980, and none in the survey sample before 1960. The median year built is 2002, and about 57% went up in 2000 or later (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024). About 95% are single-family detached and about 92% are owner-occupied.

So nearly every tree here belongs to a homeowner and is less than 30 years old. Young trees on open, windy ground need structural pruning early. Trees that never established get removed and the stump ground so something better suited can go in.

How dry is Spanish Springs?

The Spanish Springs station, under a mile from the valley's center point at 4,489 feet, has a NOAA 1991-2020 normal of 9.18 inches of precipitation a year and a mean temperature of 52 degrees. The nearest snowfall normal is the Sparks station, about 6.6 miles south, at 6.8 inches a year.

The valley floor is at about 4,522 feet in USDA zone 7b. About 3% of households heat mainly with wood, roughly ten times Reno's share; firewood and wood chips are available by calling the office.

Services in Spanish Springs

• Defensible space and fire mitigation
• Lot clearing and brush mowing
• Trimming and pruning
• Tree removal and stump grinding
• Certified arborist consultations
• 24-hour emergency tree service