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Tree Removal in Fair Play

Yes, Fair Play is in our area. Call us now at (530) 423-3128. House, barn or vineyard edge, we'll get a pro scheduled to see it.

Up a long drive or out past the vines? We cover you either way.

Fair Play, then and now

Gold mining built Fair Play in the 1850s. Farming took over by the 1880s. An 1853 newspaper called it a prosperous little mining town with several stores and hotels. The post office ran from 1860 to 1944.

The first commercial vineyard and winery here came in 1887, started by a Civil War veteran named Horace Bigelow. The Fair Play wine area became an official AVA in 2001. It now has well over 20 wine properties.

The town sits at 2,329 feet, about 4.5 miles northeast of Aukum. The Fair Play Cemetery is still open and in use today.

Why the ground matters for trees

The Fair Play area is rolling hills between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. The soil is decomposed granite, and it all drains into the Cosumnes River.

It gets 35 to 40 inches of rain in an average year. That's a fair amount. But dry years still come, and a dry year is when trees get stressed.

What that means on your land:

• A dry year can stress trees even in good ground.
• Stressed pines draw bark beetles. UC IPM says drought-stressed trees are highly susceptible.
• Wet winter soil plus a heavy lean can tip a tree over.
• Trees along the vine rows can shade them or drop limbs on the trellis.

Fire help in the Pioneer district

Fair Play is covered by the Pioneer Fire Protection District. It runs a chipping program. It also has a Defensible Space Assistance Program for seniors, veterans and folks on a low income. If that's you, give them a call before you pay for clearing.

The county's Chapter 8.09 rule applies here too. Clear 100 feet around each building. Along the driveway, keep a strip 10 feet past the edge and 15 feet up.

Getting ready

• Flag the vine rows and irrigation lines near the tree.
• Note gate codes and any locked ranch gates.
• Tell us if the job should wait until harvest is done.
• Say which barn or shed the tree could hit.
• Tell us if the ground is soft from irrigation.

What removal runs around here in Fair Play

Out here, a single dead pine by the barn might fall in HomeGuide's pine range, $250 to $1,600. A row of dead trees along a field edge is a bigger job. Ask for a price on the whole row.

Ask if the pro can chip on site and leave the chips along the field edge. For brush along fences and roads, HomeGuide lists brush removal at $800 to $3,000 an acre.

Doing several trees at once is cheaper per tree. HomeGuide says that can be 10% to 25% less.

Nearby towns

See Somerset, Mount Aukum, Grizzly Flats and Diamond Springs. For beetle-killed trees, read dead tree removal. Or see all the towns we cover.