Tree Removal in Kenwood, CA

Tree Removal in Kenwood has become, for many owners, a fire recovery job. The 2017 Nuns Fire burned through the upper Sonoma Valley, and in September 2020 the Glass Fire came over from Napa County. During the Glass Fire, Highway 12 between Los Alamos Road and Oakmont Drive was described as an ember-strewn moonscape, homes burned on Melita Road, and at least one home behind the Ledson Winery on Highway 12 was severely damaged. The Shady Fire, burning alongside it, cut a wall of flame along Sugarloaf Ridge. Many Kenwood properties now have trees that survived one or both fires but are not the same trees they were.

Reading a fire-damaged tree

Oaks are tough, and many recover from fire. The ones that do not usually show it within a few years: bark that sloughs off at the base, cavities and cracks at the root flare, dead branches throughout the crown, or a canopy that never fully leafs back out. Conifers like Douglas-fir and pines are less forgiving; when most of the needles are scorched brown, the tree often dies. A dead tree near a house, driveway or road is a removal. A scorched but living oak deserves a closer look before anyone cuts it.

County rules, including Valley Oak Habitat

Kenwood is unincorporated, so Sonoma County's Tree Protection Ordinance applies. Native oaks, madrone, buckeye, bigleaf maple, redwood and other listed species need a zoning permit to remove at 6 inches DBH or more, and very large hardwoods of 36 inches or more generally need a use permit. If a parcel falls within the county's Valley Oak Habitat combining zone, most valley oak removals require a zoning permit and mitigation. Oaks in mapped Oak Woodland zones are protected at all sizes. The important exemption for fire country: dead, dying, diseased or hazardous trees within a structure's defensible space, and work under state or county defensible-space rules, are exempt. The county asks that removal be no more than necessary.

Terrain and access

Kenwood lies east of Sonoma Creek in the upper valley, with Sugarloaf Ridge State Park to the northeast. Elevation starts at about 423 feet in town and climbs quickly into the hills. Hillside properties often have long, steep drives, and fire-killed trees on slopes can be hard to reach. Some jobs call for a crane; others are best done by felling dead trees on the slope and leaving the wood to break down, where that does not create a fire hazard.

A small community

The 2020 census counted 852 people in Kenwood, down from 1,028 a decade earlier. Many owners have rebuilt and are now landscaping around trees that were standing when they started.

Call (707) 385-5238 or send photos through the form. We will walk the property and give you a written estimate, tree by tree. Get a free estimate