Stump grinding in Topaz Ranch Estates, NV

Topaz Ranch Estates is near the outer edge of where we grind stumps. It is dry, spread out and largely self-reliant: about 26% of households heat mainly with wood and about 60% of homes are manufactured homes (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024).

At a glance

• About 63 minutes from our yard without traffic: one planned trip
• Topaz Lake station: about 5.9 inches of precipitation a year
• About 26% of households heat mainly with wood
• 53.6% of buildings in the direct wildfire exposure zone

Will a stump rot away if I leave it?

Not in any time frame that helps you. Decay needs moisture, and the Topaz Lake weather station, half a mile from the town point, averages about 5.9 inches of precipitation a year (NOAA 1991-2020 normals). That is the driest reading of any Douglas County station in our data. A stump in unwatered ground here simply dries out and stays. If you want it gone, it has to be ground or dug.

You cut the tree. Can we grind what is left?

Yes. In a community where roughly one household in four heats mainly with wood, plenty of owners drop and buck their own dead trees and are left with the one part a chainsaw cannot deal with. We grind stumps from trees we did not remove. Leave it as it is and we will take it from there. A tree that is large, leaning or near a building is a different matter: that is a job for a tree removal crew.

How to make one trip count

Put everything on the list before the estimate. That means stumps, but also dead limbs, brush along the driveway and anything else you have been meaning to deal with.

• Count every stump and note roughly how wide each is
• Send photos, one close and one showing the way in
• Say whether there is a septic tank, leach field or well line near any of them
• Tell us if a manufactured home's skirting, tie-downs or utility hookups are close to a stump
• Add any brush or tree work you want quoted at the same time

Around manufactured homes

A manufactured home has its water, sewer, power and sometimes propane coming up from the ground under or beside it, and the home rests on piers rather than a continuous foundation. A stump close to the home is ground with those hookups in mind. The public utilities mark their lines after an 811 request. The lines on your side of the meter are yours to point out.

Fire, and what to do with the chips

The USDA Forest Service rates Topaz Ranch Estates' wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US communities, with 53.6% of buildings in the direct exposure zone. The fire perimeter record maps the 1994 Holbrook fire, 7,444 acres, with its center about 3 miles away. Keep grindings out of the first 5 feet around any home, and never bank them against skirting. Beyond 30 feet they can be spread thin over bare ground. See defensible space in Topaz Ranch Estates.