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Oak Tree Removal in El Dorado Hills

Got an oak that has to go? Call us now at (530) 907-1917. A local pro who knows the county oak rules is who we send, and we'll set the visit.

Read the permit path below first. With oaks, the order of things matters more than the saw.

Call (530) 907-1917or use the online form

When an oak has to come out

Most folks here love their oaks, and that's fair. The blue oaks and live oaks are part of why the hills look the way they do. Still, some of them have to go.

• It's dead, or most of the crown is bare.
• The base is rotting, or the trunk splits at a fork.
• It leans toward the house and the roots are heaving.
• Big limbs hang over the roof or the pool.
• A storm already tore half of it off.

If one heavy limb is the worry, ask about that limb alone. It can save the tree, and sometimes the permit too.

The permit path

Here's the order. Don't skip ahead.

1. Measure the trunk. The county measures four feet six inches above the ground, on the uphill side of the tree. With more than one trunk, the three biggest get added together.
2. Sort the tree. The county has three groups. An individual oak has a main trunk of six inches or more, but under 36 inches. Anything 36 inches or wider is a heritage oak. A stand of oaks is a woodland.
3. Ask if an exemption fits. The list is just below. Dead, dying and storm-damaged oaks often fit, but they need paperwork.
4. Check with your village. Many El Dorado Hills villages want design review before any tree comes down. See the HOA page.
5. If no exemption fits, line up a qualified professional. The county asks for an oak resources technical report. A certified arborist, a wildlife biologist or a registered forester can write it.
6. Get the county's code compliance certificate. It says no oak on the property was harmed in the last two years.
7. Apply. The county handles oak removal permits as administrative permits.
8. Pay for the loss. That means a fee or replanting. Then, and only then, book the removal.

Which oaks the rules cover

The rules name the common local oaks. That includes blue oak, valley oak, California black oak and interior live oak. They cover private land outside city limits, up to an elevation of 4,000 feet.

El Dorado Hills is unincorporated. It sits near 682 feet. So the county rules apply to your yard.

A multi-trunk oak counts once the trunks add up to more than ten inches. A woodland means a stand with more than ten percent canopy cover. Two acres or more of woodland takes a woodland permit.

Most home lots have one or a few oaks. That's the "individual oak" case.

Cases where no permit is needed

The county lists some cases where a permit isn't needed. Here are the ones that come up on home lots:

• Keeping up your defensible space, under state law or county code.
• Dead, dying or diseased trees that a fire official has inspected, with the finding put in writing to the county.
• Trees that fell or got damaged in a storm, a flood, a fire or another disaster.
• Minor trimming that meets the ANSI standard.
• Work to keep power lines safe.

Two catches. First, the first-time fire clearing for a new building is not exempt. Second, a fire official, not you, makes the call on a dead tree. The county's wording names the chief of a fire district, or someone he picks.

Even when no permit is needed, the county says to keep your own records. Take photos. Keep the paperwork.

Heritage and valley oaks

Heritage oaks and valley oaks get extra care. The county says impacts to them still follow the mitigation rules, even without a building permit. The exceptions are dead, dying and storm-damaged trees.

If you have a really big oak, call early. Plan on more steps, more paper and more time.

What "making up for it" means

If you need a permit, you pay for the oak you remove. The county gives choices. You can pay an in-lieu fee. Or you can plant new oaks, counted by the inch of trunk you took out.

There's a break here. Mitigation is waived for oaks that are dead, dying or diseased, or likely to fail, if a certified arborist or registered forester says so in writing. That letter is worth getting.

What oak removal costs

Oaks cost more than many trees their size. Here are the national ranges.

Sources: Fixr tree removal guide and stump grinding guide (both updated January 2025).

Those are the cutting prices. The oak report, the county fee and the replanting come on top. We don't list the county fee here, because the 2025 rewrite changed things. Ask the Planning Division for today's number.

A rush job costs more. Fixr says emergency work can run two or three times the normal price.

Ask your pro to price two ways. One price for the whole tree, one for just the bad limb.

Why call us

• We ask about the tree's size and health first, so the right pro shows up.
• We tell you the order of steps before any work gets booked.
• We help you compare the quotes when you get more than one.
• A written quote arrives before the first cut.

How it goes

1. You phone (530) 907-1917, or use the estimate form.
2. We ask about the trunk, the lean and where the tree stands.
3. We look for a local pro who has handled oak jobs around here.
4. The pro visits and tells you what paperwork the tree needs.
5. You get a written price. Then you decide.

After the oak is down

Oak is heavy, dense wood, and many people keep the logs for the fireplace. Ask the pro whether the logs get cut to stove length and stacked, or hauled off.

The stump stays unless you ask. See stump grinding to plan that.