Emergency tree service in West Carson City

The west side has the oldest houses in the capital and the tallest yard trees. It also sits where wind comes down off the mountains. Put those together and this is the part of Carson City where a failed tree is most likely to be a large one.

At a glance

• ZIP 89703: about half of homes built before 1980, about 13% before 1960
• About 13 minutes from our yard on US Highway 50 East, without traffic
• Crane and 75-foot boom truck owned by us, not rented
• ISA Certified Arborist WE-11728A on staff

Big old trees over old roofs

In ZIP 89703 about half of the homes were built before 1980 and about 13% before 1960, the largest share of pre-1960 housing among the three Carson City ZIP codes (American Community Survey 2020-2024, figures for the whole ZIP). Trees that went in with those houses are now 60 or 70 years old. Many hang over a roof, a garage or a neighbor's fence.

When one of them splits, the piece that comes down can weigh more than a car. A job like that is planned by an arborist and usually done with a machine. The crane or the boom truck holds the weight while the crew cuts, so the load never shifts onto the house.

The mountain side of town gets more weather

The volunteer rain gauge Carson City 2.1 NW, less than a mile from the middle of this ZIP, averages about 14.7 inches of precipitation a year in NOAA's 1991-2020 normals. The main Carson City station farther east averages about 9.3. More moisture arrives on the west side, and in winter much of it is snow.

Wet snow on a wide old canopy is the classic west-side failure. So is a gust that comes down a canyon at night. If you hear a crack and see a limb hanging, stay out from under it. A hung-up limb is called a widow-maker for a reason. Our guide to widow-makers and hanging limbs explains what you are looking at.

What we do on a west-side emergency call

• Remove the tree or limb from the house, the garage or the vehicle
• Clear the driveway or the private road so people can get out
• Inspect what is left standing and say plainly whether it should stay
• Stabilize a split tree with cabling where the arborist judges it worth keeping
• Chip, load and haul the debris

That list is our storm clean-up service as we have always offered it. Nothing is added for the west side except bigger wood.

Dead and declining trees upslope

The 2004 Waterfall Fire, mapped at 8,765 acres, has its mapped center about a mile and a half from the middle of ZIP 89703. Whatever the cause, a dead or declining tree on a slope above a house is a hazard in any wind. Dead wood and hazards can be pruned or removed at any time of year, so there is no reason to wait for a storm to find the weak one. See warning signs before a tree fails.

How far is the yard?

About 5.9 miles, or about 13 minutes without traffic. That is the drive, not a promise of when a truck arrives. On a storm night the order of calls depends on where people are in danger and which roads are open.