Defensible Space Clearing
Dead brush, ladder fuels, weeds and dry grass cleared from the 100 feet around a home. The trees stay standing and the brush stays on the ground as mulch.
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Carmel Valley climbs from the willows on the Carmel River through oak woodland to chaparral on the ridges. Brush fills in under the oaks and up the hill behind the house, and the grass cures by early summer. The Monterey County Regional Fire District asks owners to finish their clearing by June 1. Some owners also get a letter from the insurance company about defensible space.
Cruz Land Management is based in Seaside on the Monterey Peninsula, and we do defensible space clearing in Carmel Valley. Our compact track loader runs a masticating head that grinds brush, saplings and small trees into mulch where they stand. A brush mower cuts the grass, and the oaks stay standing. Call or text (831) 200-5377 and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the brush, the lot or the letter you got. We look at the property and put the quote in writing.
The Monterey County Regional Fire District serves Carmel Valley, with stations in the Village and Mid Valley. Its engine companies and CAL FIRE inspect target areas starting June 1. Before then, the district's wildland flyer asks owners to check their own property against its checklist. The flyer also says the district can confirm a passed inspection in a letter for your insurance company.
The checklist splits the required 100 feet into two zones. Zone 1 is the first 30 feet around the house, called the Lean, Clean and Green Zone. Zone 2 covers the next 70 feet, or runs to the property line if that comes first. There, grass and weeds get cut to 4 inches or less, and brush gets thinned and spaced.
The masticating head does the thinning in Zone 2, and the mower takes the grass down. The district suggests no wood chips or bark within 5 feet of a building, so mulch belongs farther out. The checklist also asks for a driveway clear of brush and branches, 12 feet wide and 15 feet high. We clear the brush along the drive, and a tree service handles the overhanging limbs.
The state's fire hazard maps show most of Carmel Valley as State Responsibility Area, largely High and Very High. There, California's defensible space law, Public Resources Code 4291, asks for 100 feet of defensible space around buildings.
On August 18, 2020, the Carmel Fire started near Cachagua Road and Carmel Valley Road. CAL FIRE's record shows 6,901 acres burned and 73 structures destroyed. A fire line cut during that fire runs from Buck Mountain to the Carmel River, beside Sleepy Hollow. The Monterey County Community Wildfire Protection Plan lists it as a fuel break to build and maintain.
Fire modeling in the same plan shows that fire runs fast through dry grass in Carmel Valley. Brush burns with high heat and throws embers, and fire slows when it reaches oak woodland. That is why we mow the grass and masticate the brush under the oaks. The state's rules ask for little soil disturbance on steep slopes, and mastication leaves the soil in place.
The district's weed abatement ordinance, Ordinance 2021-01, covers every parcel in its area. Annual grass gets cut to 4 inches or less. On one acre or less, overgrown grass and brush come off the whole parcel. When the district finds a hazard, it sends a Notice to Abate Hazard with a deadline.
On parcels over an acre, the Fire Chief can require a 30-foot reduced-fuel strip along the property line. That applies where the parcel borders a public road or another parcel. If neither parcel has a structure, the strip is not required. The Fire Chief can also require 100 feet of fuel management around structures.
That strip works as a fuel break along the property line, cut with the masticating head and the mower. Pastures get brush mowing down to the 4-inch mark. The ordinance keeps all of it on your side of the property line. If the district has to do the work instead, the cost goes on the county tax roll.
In a High or Very High zone, a home sale calls for a defensible space inspection. The Monterey County Regional Fire District does these within six months before the sales contract. If the property falls short, the buyer gets up to a year after closing, under a written agreement. We can clear the property before the inspector comes out.
The NFPA's Firewise USA program lists a dozen sites in Carmel Valley, including Robles del Rio and Sleepy Hollow. For HOAs and road associations, we clear common areas and road edges on a seasonal schedule.
From Seaside we come in on Highway 68 and Laureles Grade Road, or on Highway 1 to Carmel Valley Road. Send photos of the slope when you call or text (831) 200-5377, and we will put the quote in writing.
Communities and areas we serve around Carmel Valley: Carmel Valley Village, Mid Valley, Robles del Rio, Sleepy Hollow, Los Tulares, Hidden Hills, Tularcitos Ridge, Laureles Grade Road, Cachagua Road, Tassajara Road, Santa Lucia Preserve, Garland Ranch Regional Park.
Carmel Valley ZIP codes served: 93924.
We come over from Seaside, look at the property and put the quote in writing.
(831) 200-5377 Dead brush, ladder fuels, weeds and dry grass cleared from the 100 feet around a home. The trees stay standing and the brush stays on the ground as mulch.
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We clear overgrown brush and poison oak off hillsides and fence lines. The masticating head grinds it into mulch where it stands, and the trees stay.
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We cut the dry grass and weeds on vacant lots, parcels, roadsides and lot lines before fire season. Send us a photo of your notice, and we put the quote in writing.
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We open up overgrown acreage, hillsides, ranch parcels and building sites with the masticating head and the brush mower. Brush and small trees become mulch in place, and the trees you keep stay standing.
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Our masticating head grinds brush and small trees into mulch where they stand. The ground is left under a mulch layer, and the trees you keep stay standing.
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We cut tall grass and light brush with a rotary brush mower on a compact track loader. Fields, pastures, road frontage and large lots get mowed once or every season.
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Fire breaks and fuel breaks cut along property lines, ridges, roads and driveways. Brush is masticated into mulch and grass mowed low, so a fire slows and crews have room to work.
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Vacant lots and ADU sites cleared to open ground. Weeds and grass are mowed, and brush is ground into mulch where it stands.
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We run seasonal vegetation management programs for HOAs, property managers, commercial properties and ranches. Grass is mowed and brush is masticated on a schedule built around notices and fire season.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Carmel Valley. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us where the property is and what needs clearing, and send photos if you have them. Call or text (831) 200-5377, or use the form, and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the brush, the lot or the letter you got. We look at the property and put the quote in writing.