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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Salinas has two different clearing problems. In town, a weed notice arrives for a vacant lot gone to dry grass. Off Highway 68, brush and dry grass creep up to the deck of a hillside home. The fire district's checklist asks for 100 feet of defensible space around that house.
Cruz Land Management is based in Seaside on the Monterey Peninsula, and we work across the Salinas area. Our main service is defensible space clearing around the house, and we also mow lots that got a weed notice. For brush clearing and fire breaks on the slopes, the masticating head grinds brush into mulch where it stands. Call or text (831) 200-5377.
Tell us about the brush, the lot or the letter you got. We look at the property and put the quote in writing.
The Salinas Municipal Code bars weeds and grass grown so large they become a fire menace when dry. The fire chief decides when a lot crosses that line and notifies the owner. The rule covers the sidewalk and street in front of the lot too.
The code gives the owner ten days after the notice is received to clear the lot. After that, the city can have the lot cleared and charge the cost against the property. Before the city's hired work starts, a notice gets recorded against the parcel with the county recorder. Each year, the city council holds a hearing on those costs.
Weed abatement mowing with the brush mower cuts the grass and weeds, and the masticator takes brush and small trees. We size the job to what the notice asks for. Send photos of the notice and the lot, and we will put the quote in writing.
Outside the city, Monterey County Regional Fire District covers the Highway 68 corridor. Its Toro station serves Toro Park, Serra Village, Indian Springs and Las Palmas Ranch. Its Laureles station covers San Benancio, Corral de Tierra, Hidden Hills and the Laureles Grade.
The district's wildland flyer asks owners to finish its checklist by June 1. That is when the district and CAL FIRE begin inspections of target areas. The checklist calls for 100 feet of defensible space, with annual grass cut to 4 inches or less.
It also asks for brush cleared along the driveway, at least 12 feet wide and 15 feet high. We masticate the brush along the driveway edges, and overhanging limbs go to a tree service. If your insurance company wants proof, the flyer says the district can write a letter once a property passes.
The district also has a weed abatement ordinance, adopted in September 2021. On parcels of one acre or less, overgrown grass and brush get cleared across the whole parcel. On bigger parcels, the district can ask for a 30-foot reduced-fuel strip along a road or an adjacent parcel.
It can also call for a 100-foot fuel management zone around buildings. A perimeter strip like that works much like a fuel break along the property line. We mow the grass in it and masticate the brush, and the trees stay standing.
The ordinance keeps the work inside your own property lines. If the district has to clear a parcel itself, the cost goes on the county tax roll for that parcel. The notice sets the deadline, so read it first.
The valley floor under Salinas is nearly flat, with slopes of 10 percent or less. North and east of town, the land climbs into hills, and the Gabilan Range rises to the northeast. To the southwest, Highway 68 runs through oak and grass hills toward Monterey. Monterey County's Community Wildfire Protection Plan says afternoon winds in the valley can often top 15 miles per hour.
That plan rates Salinas itself as low priority. It rates the Highway 68 corridor, Corral de Tierra, Toro Park Estates and Las Palmas as high priority. On the state's 2025 fire hazard map, most of the city also sits outside any zone. In 2020, the River Fire started at Pine Canyon and River Road, and CAL FIRE lists 48,088 acres burned.
Coast live oaks have the thickest bark of any California oak, and the brush under them is the fuel. We mow the grass short and masticate the brush under the oaks. The mulch stays out in the yard, outside the first five feet around the house. We come over from Seaside on Highway 218 and Highway 68 to do this work.
Communities and areas we serve around Salinas: Oldtown Salinas, Alisal, Williams Ranch, Boronda, Bolsa Knolls, Old Stage Road, Toro Park, Serra Village, Las Palmas Ranch, Corral de Tierra, San Benancio, Laureles Grade.
Salinas ZIP codes served: 93901, 93905, 93906, 93907, 93908.
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 Salinas. 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.