Tree Service in Moraga, CA

Moraga gets more rain than most places we work, and good tree service here pays close attention to winter. The town lies in a valley surrounded by rolling hills at about 499 feet, and it averages 27.47 inches of precipitation a year, most of it in winter. Wet soil and heavy, rain-soaked canopies are the conditions when big limbs and whole trees fail.

Pruning before the storms

The best time to prepare a tree for winter is late summer and fall. We look for:

• Long, heavy limbs extending over the roof or driveway
• Dead branches high in the crown
• Cracks, cavities and fungal growth at the base or in major unions
• Trees leaning more than they used to, or with soil heaving on one side

Reduction pruning shortens over-extended limbs back to strong laterals and takes weight off the ends, which is where breaks start. It is different from topping, which leaves weak regrowth and decay.

1960s and 1970s neighborhoods

Moraga incorporated in 1974, uniting Moraga Town, Rheem and Rheem Valley. Census estimates put the median year built at 1972, with about two thirds of the homes built in the 1960s and 1970s. That means a lot of 50- to 60-year-old landscape trees: Monterey pine, redwood, liquidambar and ornamental plums, plus native oaks and bays that were left when the subdivisions went in.

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After the storm

If a limb does come down, keep people and pets away from anything hanging in the canopy and from any wires the tree is touching. Take photos for your insurance company before cleanup. We cut hangers down first, then clear the roof, driveway and paths, and come back for the rest if the storm has many people waiting.

Fog, heat and hills

Summer mornings in Moraga are often foggy, burning off by late morning, and the town averages about 26 days a year at 90 degrees or more. The surrounding hills are grassland and oak, and the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail runs through town. Hillside lots near open space should keep dead wood off the ground and limbs off the roof, and check the State Fire Marshal's hazard map for their address.

Near Saint Mary's

Saint Mary's College moved to Moraga in 1928 and sits just northeast of downtown. Older properties near the campus can hold some of the largest trees in town, including native oaks that predate the houses. Those trees deserve a careful look and the lightest pruning that solves the problem.

Before a removal

We could not confirm Moraga's tree ordinance online for this page. Check with the town's planning staff before removing a large tree, especially a native oak, and we will provide what they ask for. Call (925) 966-3413 to set up a visit.