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Snow-Load Thinning in Pollock Pines

Worried about what the next big storm will do to the trees by your house? Call us. We'll line up a tree company who knows mountain snow, and book a look before winter, not after.

Call (530) 248-6524

This is the page for snow-load thinning in Pollock Pines. For snow-load thinning, a tree trimming company in Pollock Pines can come look, and we set it up.

Plan snow-load thinning in Pollock Pines with one call. We take the call, find a tree trimming company for snow-load thinning, and book it. You decide on the price.

Snow-load thinning in Pollock Pines: how we help

Give us your Pollock Pines street and what snow-load thinning you need. Then a tree trimming company in Pollock Pines looks at snow-load thinning. The visit goes faster that way.

How much snow are we talking about?

At 3,980 feet, Pollock Pines gets real winters. Wikipedia says a year's snowfall can run anywhere from 6 inches to 6 feet. The NOAA table shown there averages about 63 inches a year, spread over roughly 17 snowy days.

Most of it lands in three months. The monthly averages are 10.7 inches in December, 15.4 in January and 13.6 in February. March matches February at 13.6. By May it's under an inch.

Snow itself isn't the trouble. Wet snow is. Heavy, sticky snow clings to needles and doesn't slide off. An Iowa State guide says heavy, wet snow on evergreens can cause severe branch breakage. It also says damage from heavy snow is best handled with prevention.

Prevention is what this page is about.

Which limbs let go in Pollock Pines

A tree doesn't break just anywhere. It breaks where it was already weak. Here's the usual list.

• Dead limbs. They're brittle, and the extra weight finishes them.
• Long, low limbs that reach out over a drive or a roof. Snow piles up along the whole length, and a long limb acts like a long handle.
• Branches with a tight, narrow angle where they join the trunk. NC State says the narrower the angle, the more likely a branch is to break or split.
• Two trunks that grow up side by side from the same spot, with bark squeezed between them.
• Trees with a lean, or trees whose roots got cut by a trench or a driveway.

Look at a tree from far back. A healthy pine is even. If one side is much heavier, that side takes the snow.

What thinning does in Pollock Pines

The ISA pruning guide says proper thinning opens the foliage of a tree and reduces weight on heavy limbs. That's the whole idea for snow. Fewer branches, less surface for snow to land on, and more gaps for it to fall through.

Thinning isn't butchering. The same guide says to take no more than about a quarter of the crown at once. Routine thinning also doesn't promise a healthier tree, so don't let anyone sell it as a cure-all. Think of it as a strap you put on before you carry something heavy.

For yard trees like dogwood or maple, thinning in fall after the leaves drop is easy to see. For conifers the cuts focus on three things: dead wood, weak joints, and limbs that hang over places where people walk, park or sleep.

Before the storm

Do a walk-around in October or early November. Bring a friend and a pair of binoculars. Look up.

1. Mark any limb that's dead, cracked or hanging by a thread.
2. Check over the roof, the car spots and the path to the front door.
3. Check near the power line to the house. (Anything touching a wire is a job for the utility, not for you. See trimming near lines.)
4. Call a tree trimming company while the roads are dry and the schedule is open.

Ice is a different animal from snow. Iowa State's advice for ice: don't push ice-covered branches back up, and don't beat the ice off with a broom or rake. That only causes more damage. Sometimes a small tree can be propped up. Otherwise, let it melt.

After the storm in Pollock Pines

Stay out from under loaded trees. The Iowa State guide says to stay away from big, ice-laden trees, and Nebraska's extension says the same about falling ice. A limb can drop without a sound.

When the weight is gone, take stock. Broken limbs hanging in a tree need a tree company to bring them down. A split trunk may or may not be saved. The Nebraska guide says to take out trees that are uprooted, have trunk failure, or have more than half their branches broken.

If a limb lands on the house, a car or a wire, make sure everyone is safe first. Near a wire, stay 10 feet back, call 911 and call PG&E. Don't wait on a tree trimming company for that.

What it costs

Costs here come from national guides. A tree company will give you the real number after seeing the job.

Two things from that table. Thinning before the storm costs less than a rush job after it. And it costs a lot less than a limb through the roof.

Snow also makes work harder. A tree trimming company working in the wet, on icy ground, may charge more or need to wait. Booking in October means dry ground and a better choice of days.

Questions to ask the tree trimming company

A good visit is a two-way talk. Here are a few things worth asking, so you know what you're paying for.

• Which limbs are coming off, and why those?
• About how much of the crown is that? The ISA says to stay near a quarter or less.
• Will the cuts be made outside the branch collar, with no stubs?
• Is hauling or chipping in the price?
• If a storm hits first, can the visit move up?

A tree trimming company who explains the answers in plain words is a good sign. One who wants to cut "everything that's in the way" is not.

Looking for snow-load thinning in Pollock Pines? Ring (530) 248-6524. We arrange a tree trimming company for snow-load thinning and the day.

More to read

Next up is limbing up pines, the sister job. Or head to roofs and chimneys, all tree jobs, or the home page.