Defensible Space Tree Work in Reno, NV

Defensible space tree work is about what a fire can reach. Reno has seen what happens when it reaches homes: the November 2011 Caughlin Fire in southwest Reno, started by arcing power lines, destroyed 26 homes, and the Washoe Drive Fire two months later destroyed 29 and forced about 10,000 people to evacuate. Much of the city borders open sagebrush and hillside, and many lots have pines, junipers and dead brush close to the house. Spacing and limbing those trees, and removing the dead ones, is one of the most effective things a homeowner can do.

The three zones

Nevada's Living With Fire program, run by University of Nevada, Reno Extension, divides the area around a home into zones:

• Zone 0, 0 to 5 feet: the ember-resistant zone, including under and around any attached deck, kept free of dead leaves, needles and other material embers can ignite.
• Zone 1, 5 to 30 feet: lean, clean and green. Trees about 10 feet from the house and about 10 feet between trees, limbed up, with dead material removed.
• Zone 2, 30 to 100 feet and beyond: reduced fuel. Lower branches on live trees pruned to about 10 feet above the ground, ladder fuels and dead or dying trees removed.

Where tree work comes in

• Limbing up. Removing lower branches so a ground fire cannot climb into the crown.
• Crown separation. Thinning or removing trees so crowns do not touch each other or the roof.
• Clearing the roofline. Removing branches over the roof and away from chimneys and gutters, where needles pile up.
• Removing dead trees. A dead pine is fuel standing next to the house. Living With Fire calls for removing dead vegetation in every zone.
• Junipers. Living With Fire describes ornamental junipers as extremely flammable because of their resin and the dead material inside. Junipers against the house or under windows are usually first to go.

Doing it without stripping the yard

Defensible space does not mean a bare lot. Living With Fire favors deciduous trees over evergreens near the house and warns against removing more than one-third of a tree's height when pruning. Healthy, well-spaced, well-watered trees are part of a fire-safe yard. We look at each tree and suggest what to limb, what to thin and what to remove, rather than cutting everything.

Power lines and fire

The Caughlin Fire started at power lines in wind. Keeping trees clear of the service line to your house is the owner's job, while NV Energy prunes trees along the high-voltage lines between poles and can be reached at (775) 834-4444.

Call (775) 600-6504 for a free estimate. We walk the lot with you, zone by zone, and the quote lists every tree and shrub to be limbed, thinned or removed.