What people ask before they book. If a question isn't here, the intake form has a notes field; ask there and we'll answer in the same reply that has your quote.
Defensible space is the buffer of treated vegetation around a structure that gives firefighters a chance to defend it and gives embers somewhere to land that isn't fuel. California requires 100 feet of it around homes in fire hazard zones under Public Resources Code 4291. CAL FIRE and local districts inspect it; most California insurance carriers now check it too.
Projects start at $600. Beyond that, cost depends on acreage, slope, brush density, access, and what you want done with the cut material. We quote from photos within one business day, which means you don't pay for an estimate, and you don't spend an afternoon on a sales visit. Send a few wide shots and the notice or letter if you have one.
Limbing kept trees and thinning small-diameter trees in open ground, yes. Removals near houses and large hazard trees take a licensed tree crew, and the roster is growing to cover that — if your report or your eyes say tree work, note it in the quote form. If we can't cover it yet, we'll say so straight and point you to an outfit we'd use ourselves.
Whichever the ground calls for. Hand cutting keeps the plants you want and doesn't rut sloped ground, so steep and tight parcels get hand crews. Open, flatter acreage can take a mowing or machine crew and get done faster for the same money. Your property report usually settles it before anyone drives out, and the quote says which crew and why.
The default is burn piles. We build them properly — domed, clear of overhead branches, sized for safe lighting — and place them for you to burn during your district's permit window. If you'd rather keep some of the material, we stack it for firewood or habitat. Haul-off is a separately quoted add-on if you want it gone immediately.
Send us the letter and a few photos of the flagged areas around your house. We quote against the specific findings, do the work, and leave you with before-and-after photos for your inspector or carrier. The fix is almost always the standard Zone 0–2 checklist done thoroughly and documented. If your deadline is tight, tell us in your message and we'll bump you up.
Quoting happens within one business day. Scheduling depends on the season and the queue. Spring and early summer are the busiest months in this region; deadline work (CAL FIRE notices, insurance letters) gets prioritized. We'll give you a real date once we've seen the photos.
El Dorado County and Placer County, in the populated foothill belts and the rural addresses between them. See the El Dorado County and Placer County pages for representative town lists.
Being straight about it: the roster is young, and general liability coverage across it is in progress rather than universal today. If your job requires a certificate of insurance before work starts, tell us up front and we'll say honestly whether the right crew is available or point you to an insured operator. The clearing work is land clearing for fire prevention under California B&P Code §7049, which doesn't require a contractor's license; tree work near structures or utilities always requires a licensed tree crew, and only ever goes to one.
Not usually. We walk the property with you on day one to flag what stays and what goes; after that you can be on or off the property as you prefer. If you have specific plants you want left alone, flagging them together up front matters more than being there during the cut.
Yes — that's most of the work in this region, and it's the main reason we cut by hand. Brush cutters and chainsaws go places a skid steer can't, and they don't rut the slope on the way through.
No. The goal is selective work to the inspector's standard — spaced shrubs in Zone 1, thinned crowns in Zone 2, healthy trees limbed up. Plants you flag as keepers stay. Cleared right looks like a foothill property that someone takes care of, not a job site.
Photos in, ballpark back within one business day. Projects start at $600.