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Tree Service in Lotus
Calling from Lotus, ZIP 95651? We've got you. Dial (530) 764-5890 and we'll scare up a local tree pro and point them at your gate.
Could be a limb on the roof, a trunk on the fence, or a tree by the water that's started to lean. Tell us what you're looking at.
The low end of the valley
Lotus is a mile west of Coloma and sits at 722 feet. That's even lower than Coloma. Any lower and you'd want a boat.
Low and close to the South Fork means two things for trees. Snow is a stranger here. Soaked ground is not. After a long run of rain, roots on a bank or a soggy flat can lose their grip. Add wind and a top-heavy tree goes over.
The river is a busy one. Folks call it the most popular recreation stream in the West, and it drew 80,000 rafting visitors in 2011. All that traffic shares a few narrow roads. A tree down on one of them is a mess for everybody.
A town that's had a few names
Lotus dates to 1849. Its first name honored James W. Marshall, whose gold find up the road kicked off the rush. In 1850 it became Uniontown. By 1881 a post office opened, and the town has been Lotus ever since.
Hard to picture now, but the boom-time count was somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 souls. Back then it had a store and a dance hall. Lots of the townsfolk were Chinese. Their old cemetery is still part of Lotus. Today it's a sleepy spot, and the crowds mostly stop in Coloma.
Old places mean old trees. Some have stood by those roads and graves a long time. A tree that old can look solid and still be hollow inside.
After a storm, check these
- Any tree on a bank that now tilts toward the water or toward a building.
- Big limbs hung up in the crown, waiting for the next gust.
- A tree whose base has turned to muck or shows torn roots.
- Branches resting on the line that runs to your house.
Stay clear of anything touching a wire. PG&E's tree line is 1-800-743-5000. If it's sparking or blocking a road, call 911 instead.
Help from the neighbors
Lotus and Coloma share a local group, the Coloma-Lotus Fire Safe Council. You'll spot it on the county council's roll of neighborhood groups. Worth knowing about when dead trees and brush pile up.
Wet roots, quick trouble
Most folks picture a tree snapping in half. Down by the river, more of them just lean over and keep going. The roots let go of mud, not rock.
So the warning is often slow. A tree tilts a little after one storm. It tilts more after the next. Then one night it's on the shed. If you catch that first tilt, call. It's cheaper to deal with a tree standing up than one lying on a roof.
What folks pay
A Sacramento-area cost guide from Today's Homeowner says homeowners spend about $723 on average to have a tree taken down. The range runs from $270 to $1,166. Out on a riverbank with soft ground, expect the high side.
That's a guide, not a quote. Your pro looks first and gives you a price. We don't tack anything on.
How fast? In a calm spell, often within the week. When the whole foothill gets hammered at once, the line gets long. We'll level with you on that.
Lotus questions
My tree is on the riverbank. Can it be saved?
Sometimes. A pro can tell if the roots are still holding. If the bank has washed out under it, the answer is usually no.
Is snow a worry at 722 feet?
Not much. Wet ground and wind cause most of the damage this low.
Do you cover the back roads off the highway?
We do. Give us the road and a landmark and we'll sort it out.
Close by
- Tree service in Coloma, the next bend upriver
- Tree service in Gold Hill, over the ridge
- Emergency tree removal
- Every town on our list
- Back home: tree service in Placerville