Vegetation Management

El Dorado County Ordinance No. 5101 and Ordinance No. 5186 provide regulations and requirements for Vegetation Management and Defensive Space for properties located in El Dorado Hills, Placerville, Camron Park, Shingle Springs, South Lake Tahoe, and broader El Dorado County.

These ordinances aim to protect residential and commercial properties from the nuisances and fire dangers posed by the uncontrolled accumulation of weeds, grasses hazardous vegetation, and combustible materials.

The ordinances include strict guidelines and penalties for managing vegetation and weeds throughout the county.

El Dorado County Ordinances 5101 and 5186 refer to Ordinance 9.02.210 for enforcement penalties for failing to properly manage vegetation.

Penalties may include administrative fines, recovery costs should the county take steps to organize vegetation removal, and the potential for property liens if the county is unable to recover the fees.

Hargo's Land Management is a member of the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council. We are certified defensible space evaluators, ensuring that any weed or vegetation management performed on your property meets local ordinances and state regulatory requirements.

Vegetation management includes the abatement, removal, or control of any plant materials that may pose a wildfire risk or cause a nuisance.

El Dorado County ordinances 5101 and 5186 outlines what may fall into these categories:

• Dry or overgrown weeds
• Dry or overgrown grass
• Shrubs
• Stubble brush, weeds, or slash (wood debris) that may become a fire danger
• Unrpuned vegetation
• Poison Ivy
• Poison Oak
• Any vegetation that could allow a fire to climb up from the forest floor into the tree canopy

El Dorado County is prone to wildfires, so regularly maintaining your property throughout the year is a must.

The most critical time to manage vegetation and create defensible space areas around homes and properties is between February and June 1 (the county's deadline).

Professional vegetation management and taking steps to reduce wildfire dangers around your home is recommended during this period to ensure 100-foot defensible space around habitable structures, removing dead plants, grass, weeds, and ladder fuels, and clearing debris like pine needles from yards and gutters.

Proper vegetation management should be a year-round practice that includes

• Regular removal of hazardous trees and dead or dying trees
• Pruning trees to a 15-foot clearance above roads and driveways
• Clearing vegetation within 10 feet of roadways (except ground cover under 18 inches).
• Promptly addressing invasive plant species
• And ensuring that brush or vegetation that can fuel fires is removed