Tree trimming and pruning in Sun Valley, NV

Sun Valley is a community of about 22,000 people north of Reno, and about three in four of its homes are owner-occupied. People here own their trees and deal with them directly. The usual call is about one tree that has grown over one roof.

At a glance

• About 51% of Sun Valley homes are mobile or manufactured homes
• Reno WFO station, about 2 miles away: 29.7 inches of snowfall a year
• Pieces lowered by rope where nothing can be dropped
• About 46 minutes from our yard without traffic

Why is a tree over a manufactured home a special case?

Because there is nowhere for a mistake to go. The tree, the home, the awning, the shed and the fence usually share a small lot. A branch that would land harmlessly on a suburban lawn lands here on a roof or a carport.

So the work is slow and deliberate. A climber ties in above the limb, cuts it in short lengths and lowers each one on a rope to a crew member on the ground. Where the street allows, our 75-foot boom truck reaches over from the road instead.

What gets pruned on a typical Sun Valley lot?

The table pairs what you see with what the arborist plans: clearance pruning for branches on the roof, weight reduction for heavy limbs, dead wooding for dead branches, an assessment for a leaning tree and crown raising for low limbs.

If the tree has simply outgrown the lot, the arborist will say so. Tree removal in Sun Valley explains how that is done in the same tight space.

How much snow do Sun Valley trees carry?

More than the valley floor. The National Weather Service office station, Reno WFO, sits about 2 miles from the center of Sun Valley at 4,987 feet. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for it show 29.7 inches of snowfall a year, against 20.9 at Reno-Tahoe International Airport and 6.8 at Sparks. Precipitation is only 8.09 inches a year, so trees are dry and brittle in the same place they are snow-loaded.

Shortening long limbs in the dormant season reduces what snow can break. After a storm, do not go under a cracked or hanging limb. Read widow-makers and hanging limbs and call 775.232.8243, our 24-hour number.

Does pruning help with fire in Sun Valley?

Yes. The USDA Forest Service ranks Sun Valley's wildfire risk to homes higher than 97.7% of US communities. It counts about 16% of buildings in the direct exposure zone and the rest in the indirect zone, where wind-carried embers are the concern. No buildings are rated minimal.

Keeping branches off roofs and dead wood out of crowns removes places for embers to catch. On lots at the edge of the valley, see defensible space in Sun Valley.

What about the wire to the house?

Leave it alone. If branches are touching or pulling on any power line, stay clear and call NV Energy. Tell our office about lines near the tree when you ask for an estimate, and the arborist will plan around them.