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Fire-Damaged Tree Removal in Camino

A scorched tree is still standing near your place in Camino? Call us now at (530) 441-2256. A tree company can come check it out, and we handle the booking. The call is free.

Call (530) 441-2256or use the online request form

Here we cover fire-damaged tree removal in Camino. A tree removal company that serves Camino handles fire-damaged tree removal, and we book it.

The Caldor Fire left a lot of trees behind around Camino

The Caldor Fire started about four miles south of Grizzly Flats. Per Wikipedia, it was first reported August 14, 2021, and was fully contained October 21, 2021. In all it burned 221,835 acres.

The tally was 1,005 structures destroyed and 81 damaged, with most losses in Grizzly Flats and along Highway 50. On August 17 it hit 30,000 acres and moved toward Sly Park Reservoir, which sits close to Camino.

Some trees in a burn zone fall right away. Others get singed and keep standing. Those standing ones are the problem, in the country south and east of town around Grizzly Flats and Sly Park.

What a fire-hurt tree looks like around Camino

Some are easy. A black trunk with no needles is dead. The hard ones look alright from the road.

• A black ring of char around the whole base.
• Needles that went brown or orange after the fire and never came back.
• Bark that cracks off in plates, or a trunk with deep burn scars.
• A crown that thinned out a lot, or a top that died.
• Roots that were baked. You may see a patch of dead ground around the trunk.

A tree can look fine for a season and fail later. The fire may have cooked the inside. And fire-weak pines are the first ones the beetles find. See dead pine tree removal for those signs.

What the work involves around Camino

A burned tree is not the same as a healthy one. Char flakes and the wood can break without warning. The tree company will walk the tree first and think about where it can fall.

Near a house or a power line, the tree usually comes down in sections. Small pieces get lowered on ropes. Big trees may need a crane. Angi puts a crane at about $500, with the truck and extra staff included.

Then the wood has to go somewhere. Burned wood can be chipped or hauled. It may also be milled or sold, and that's where the rules come in. See the next part.

Selling the logs: why it matters

Most home jobs are just a tree coming down. But if the logs get sold, it may count as timber work. Here is what the law says.

• California Public Resources Code 4527 defines timber operations as cutting or removing timber from timberlands for commercial purposes.
• The state's forest rules list some exemptions. One is for dead, dying or diseased trees of any size, as long as the cut stays below a tenth of the typical timber volume per acre.
• Another covers cutting trees to meet the defensible space law, PRC 4290 and 4291. Under that one, only trees within 150 feet of an approved structure can be taken.
• A wildfire exemption needs the fire to be no more than three years old when the notice goes in. Or it needs a state of emergency order that covers the land.
• A notice of exemption is good for one year after CAL FIRE gets it.

Do the math on the Caldor Fire. It was five years ago. So the three year route is closed for Caldor trees. The other route needs a state of emergency order that covers your land. Rules change, and this is not legal advice.

Ask your tree removal company one plain question before the saw starts: are the logs being sold? If yes, ask who handles the CAL FIRE paperwork. For the rules in full, read our page on tree removal permits.

What it costs

These come from cost guides, not from quotes. Burned trees can run higher than the same tree unburned, since the crew you hire has to work around weak wood.

Numbers from HomeGuide's pages on tree removal, arborists and wood chipping (Feb 2026) and Angi's tree removal page (updated Oct 2026).

HomeGuide says dead trees often cost more because of the safety risk. With several burned trees on one lot, book one visit. The per-tree price can fall by 10% to 25%, says HomeGuide.

An arborist is a tree health expert. HomeGuide puts a look at one tree between $100 and $250. That's worth it when you can't tell if a scorched oak or pine will live.

Your options when the lot is big

Have an acre of scorched woods? That's a land clearing job. HomeGuide puts light clearing at $1,200 to $2,500 per acre and heavy clearing at $4,500 to $8,000 per acre. Forestry mulching, which grinds brush and small trees where they stand, runs $500 to $1,000 or more per acre. HomeGuide says it suits fire prevention work.

Look at the burn scar in terms of risk, too. A cleared strip around the house and shop does more good than a lone tree out in the back.

Step by step

1. Call (530) 441-2256 or fill out the estimate form.
2. Say where the tree stands, how tall it is, and what it's near: house, shop or wires.
3. Say if the logs will be sold.
4. We find a tree company and set up the visit.
5. The tree removal company checks over the tree and puts a price in writing.
6. The decision is yours. Want another price? Ask for one.

Want fire-damaged tree removal in Camino handled? The line is (530) 441-2256. We set fire-damaged tree removal up with a tree removal company.

Nearby

Burn-country work is common near Grizzly Flats and Sly Park. See also tree removal in Pollock Pines, or go back to tree removal in Camino.