Tree Removal in Glen Ellen, CA

Tree Removal in Glen Ellen is bound up with what happened in October 2017. The whole village was severely damaged by the Nuns Fire. Years later, the trees tell the story: oaks with blackened bases, dead Douglas-firs on the slopes, and bays that resprouted from the ground into dense clumps. Some of the trees that survived are now safe and healthy. Others have been declining slowly and are a risk to rebuilt homes, roads and the creek.

Sonoma Creek runs through it

Sonoma Creek, the principal river of the Sonoma Valley, flows right through Glen Ellen. Homes along it sit under alders, willows, bigleaf maples, bays and big oaks. Creekside trees are often protected twice over: by the county's species list and, in Riparian Corridor zones, by rules that can require a permit regardless of size. Fallen trees in the creek are their own question, since moving wood in a stream can trigger other agencies' rules. Before planning any work along the creek, call Permit Sonoma at (707) 565-1900.

Woodland, not suburb

Glen Ellen's 2.1 square miles hold about 714 people, and much of the land around them is wooded hillside. Jack London State Historic Park, Sonoma Valley Regional Park and Quarryhill Botanic Garden are all close by, and the former Sonoma Developmental Center lands are just outside the village. Lots tend to be irregular, sloped and full of trees. That brings sudden oak death into play too: the pathogen spreads on bay laurel and tanoak leaves, and Sonoma County's 2019 infection rate was about double 2018's.

Permit basics

As an unincorporated community, Glen Ellen follows the county's Tree Protection Ordinance. Protected species need a zoning permit at 6 inches DBH or more. In Oak Woodland zones, oaks are protected at all sizes, and parcels there may qualify for a one-time permit to remove up to half an acre of woodland. Dead or hazardous trees within a structure's defensible space, and work required by defensible-space law, are exempt. A removal your insurer requires within 100 feet of an occupied building is exempt as well, with written documentation.

Trees and the rebuild

Many Glen Ellen lots have been rebuilt since 2017, and new foundations, driveways and septic systems were often placed near surviving trees. Trenching and grading inside a tree's root zone can do damage that does not show for several years. If a tree near new construction is thinning, dropping deadwood or leaning more than it did, have it looked at. Sometimes the answer is deadwood removal and monitoring; sometimes the tree is past saving and is better taken down on your schedule than in a storm.

How work is done on these lots

On sloped, wooded lots, the safest method is often to climb and dismantle trees in sections, lowering each piece. Where a chipper cannot reach, brush may be carried to the road or piled for later chipping. Logs can be left on site in rounds for firewood, which the county allows for personal use on occupied parcels.

Call (707) 385-5238 or send photos through the form for a free, written estimate. Get a free estimate