Texas Hill Country fire season is year-round ·
Dated before and after photos show what was cleared ·Cedar removal is usually the biggest fuel cut on a Hill Country lot
Is your Hill Country property a fire hazard? Cedar against the house usually is.
Wildfire Mitigation & Defensible Space in Texas
We clear cedar and dry brush from the three zones around your structures, 0 to 100 feet out, with a forestry mulcher in one pass. Defensible space runs $3,000–$4,500 per acre. Most jobs start 1–3 weeks after approval. You get dated before and after photos of the cleared area. No hauling and no burning.
Ashe juniper, what Texans call cedar, is a major wildfire fuel in the Hill Country. Its foliage and dead wood burn hot, dense stands let ground fire climb into the canopy, and dead cedar dries out in drought. If a structure sits within 100 feet of an untreated cedar stand, that stand is the problem to fix first.
What the Rules Say
The Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS) describes three home ignition zones: 0–5 ft, 5–30 ft and 30–100 ft from the structure. Texas has no statewide defensible-space mandate. Inside Austin city limits the City of Austin Wildland-Urban Interface Code applies. Some insurers ask about defensible space at renewal. See our wildfire insurance guide.
We give you dated before and after photos of what was cleared. We do not certify compliance with any code or program, and we cannot promise how an insurer will treat it. Last reviewed: September 2026. Sources: Texas A&M Forest Service, NFPA.
TFS Home Ignition ZonesNFPA 1140Before / After ImageryTravis · Williamson · Hays · Burnet · Blanco · Llano
Why Cedar is Different
Why does cedar burn so hard?
Ashe juniper holds aromatic oils in its foliage and wood, and it burns hot. Dead cedar, the silver trunks common in drought-stressed stands, is dry fuel. A big cedar monoculture is a heavy, continuous fuel load.
Cedar also grows in interlocked stands, so fire that enters one has a path to the next. The view problem and the fire problem have the same fix: take it out.
After Treatment
What does defensible space do?
Treated space breaks the fuel path from wildland fire to your structure. It cuts down the places embers can land, and structure ignitions in wildland-urban interface fires often start from embers landing on debris, decks or landscaping. It also gives firefighters a safer place to work.
Fuel path to the structureBroken up
Ember landing zoneReduced
Responder working roomImproved
Record of the workBefore/after photos
Home Ignition Zones
Three Zones. One Clearing Plan.
Each zone gets different work. Your site walk maps all three on your actual terrain, with slope, wind exposure and existing vegetation, before we quote a price.
Zone 1 — Immediate
0–5 ft
Lean, Clean & Green
The ground right against the structure. Anything that burns comes off it, because it can ignite siding, decks and eaves directly.
Remove dead vegetation, wood debris and fallen branches
No continuous shrubs touching the structure
Trees limbed up to break ladder fuels
Decks, roofs and gutters clear of leaf litter
Zone 2 — Intermediate
5–30 ft
Thinned & Spaced
The band where fire gains or loses momentum. Vegetation is thinned so it cannot carry fire as one continuous mass toward the structure.
Cedar removed or thinned to break the canopy
Ladder fuels between ground and canopy removed
Space between remaining shrubs, wider on slopes
Standing dead cedar and dead material removed
Zone 3 — Extended
30–100 ft
Reduced Fire Behavior
The outer band, where fire can be slowed before it reaches the inner zones. It matters most on slopes and ridgelines.
Break up dense cedar stands
Reduce fuel lines that run uphill toward the structure
Ashe Juniper (Cedar)Honey MesquiteLive Oak DeadwoodDry Grasses / ThatchPrickly Pear (Dense)Standing Dead CedarShin Oak — SelectiveAgarita — SelectiveLive Oak — Canopy PreservedNative Grasses — PreservedSpecimen Oaks — Limbed & Preserved
What We Do
Wildfire Mitigation Services
From one structure to a whole property. Every job starts with a site walk and ends with a before and after record. Prices are in the table below.
Core Service
Defensible Space Creation
Three-zone treatment around structures, from the structure out, with our CAT 299D3 XE and FAE mulching head. The before and after photos are your record of the work.
Equipment: CAT 299D3 XE + FAE head
What moves the price
Structures need tighter planning around zones and access. Steep ground slows the machine. Cedar mixed with live oak we are keeping takes longer than a uniform cedar stand.
Fire Behavior Control
Fuel Break Creation
Cleared strips that cut the continuous fuel path across your land, placed with slope and wind in mind. See fuel breaks and brush reduction.
Equipment: CAT 299D3 XE + FAE head
What moves the price
Steep, rocky ground slows the machine. Ravines, ridgelines and drainage crossings add time. Breaks that tie into fence lines or water features need more planning. Priced per acre of corridor (length × width).
Infrastructure
Emergency Access Road Clearing
Overgrown ranch and estate roads slow a fire response. We clear cedar back from the road edge and overhead. Your local fire department sets the width and height it needs, so ask them first.
Equipment: CAT 299D3 XE + FAE head
What moves the price
Heavy overhead canopy, root or erosion damage to the road surface, drainage crossings and switchbacks all add time. Roads unmaintained for years usually have cedar growing at grade that needs extra passes.
Post-Fire
Wildfire Recovery & Rehabilitation
After a fire, burned cedar and dead standing material are a secondary hazard. We clear and process post-fire debris in place and document the area before and after for your adjuster.
Equipment: CAT 299D3 XE + FAE head
What moves the price
Debris density and type vary a lot. Limestone at the surface may call for rock milling for access. Structural debris mixed in must be separated.
Assessment Only
Fire Risk Site Assessment
Not ready to clear? We walk the property, note the fuel in each zone and the highest-risk spots, and give you a written action plan to prioritize your budget. An optional drone scan and 3D surface model is $500–$1,500 per scan. Our drone scans measure surfaces, quantities and grades. They are not a boundary survey or a sealed survey by a licensed surveyor, and a drone cannot see below the ground surface.
Equipment: Mavic 3 Enterprise RTK (optional scan)
What moves the price
Larger properties mean more walking time and, if you add the drone scan, more flight time and processing.
Multi-Property
HOA & Community Fire Mitigation
Fire risk does not stop at lot lines. We assess and treat shared easements, common areas and road corridors, and the ground beyond individual lots, as one plan.
Equipment: full fleet
What moves the price
Scope runs from a 10-lot HOA to a large ranch community with miles of shared road. We scope every community job on a joint walk before we quote it.
Included in Every Clearing Service
Site walk and written quote
Zone layout on the site map
Before and after photos
Optional: drone scan and 3D surface model of the site, $500–$1,500 per scan.
Operator and fuel
No burning
No haul-off fees
How a Job Runs
How does a wildfire mitigation jobrun?
Step 01
Site Walk
We Look at the Fuel Before We Clear It.
We walk the property with you. We note where the cedar is thickest, how close fuel sits to each structure, and which slopes will speed a fire up.
From that we lay out the three zones on your terrain, agree on what stays, and write the quote.
Zone layoutCedar density by zoneSlope and wind exposureStructure distances
Step 02
Clearing
One Pass. Every Zone Treated.
Our CAT 299D3 XE with FAE mulching head works Zone 1 first, then Zones 2 and 3, then access road corridors. Cedar and juniper are ground up in place. No flame and no hauling. Specimen live oaks are kept as marked in the plan.
On multi-day jobs we check the site partway through and compare the cleared area to the plan. If a zone is off, we hear about it before the machine moves on.
Mid-job checkZone progress
Step 04
Completion Walk
Before & After. Every Zone Documented.
We walk the site again and lay the after photos against the before photos so you can see what changed, zone by zone. Preserved trees are confirmed. If a zone missed the plan, we fix it before we leave.
Before / after comparisonPreserved tree check
Step 05
Your Record
Your Before and After Record.
You receive before and after photos. An optional drone scan adds a 3D model processed in Pix4D, typically 2–3 business days after the flight. Send them to your insurance agent, HOA or fire department. Whether they credit it is their decision.
Optional 3D modelBefore / after photosAnnual maintenance baseline
Start with a site walk.
Book a Wildfire Site Walk.
We walk the property, fly it and show you the fuel by zone. Written quote within 48 hours of the site walk. No obligation to proceed.
What does wildfire mitigation cost in Central Texas?
Your site walk tells us which range applies to your property before we quote a number.
Service
Unit
Range
Typical timeline
Zone 1 and 2 around a single structure (0–30 ft)
per structure
$3,000 – $6,000 per structure
Half to 1 day
Full three-zone defensible space
per acre
$3,000–$4,500 per acre
1–5 days
Cedar mulching (light brush to dense cedar)
per acre
$2,000–$5,200 per acre
Depends on acreage
Fuel break (per acre of corridor, length × width)
per acre
$1,600–$2,400 mowing, $2,000–$5,200 mulching
1–4 days
Emergency access road clearing (per acre of corridor)
per acre
$1,600–$2,400 mowing, $2,000–$5,200 mulching
0.5–2 days
Fire risk site assessment only
flat
$1,000 – $2,500 flat
Half day
Wildfire recovery / post-fire rehab
per acre
$2,000 – $4,500 per acre
3–10 days
HOA / community fire mitigation
per project
Volume pricing, contact us
3–14 days
Prices reviewed: September 2026. Ranges for Austin and Central Texas; your site walk sets the final number. Limestone at the surface may add rock milling. The before and after record is included in every clearing service. See all pricing and the land clearing calculator.
Recurring Maintenance
Defensible Space Maintenance Plans
Cedar comes back from seed and dry grass builds up. An annual maintenance plan keeps the cleared zones clear and your records current. A single visit is $2,000–$3,500 per visit.
Plan 1
Buffer
Perimeter maintenance
$2,000 / year
1 visit per year
Most Common
Plan 2
Protection
Home zones plus fuel breaks
$4,800 / year
2 visits per year, spring and fall
Plan 3
Estate
Full property, scoped per property
$12,000 / year
Quarterly visits
Full details and the plan table are on the annual maintenance page. HOA and multi-property programs are quoted individually.
Who This Is For
Who is wildfire mitigation for?
Homeowners & Ranch Owners
Hill Country Estate & Ranchette Owners
Sound familiar? "My renewal came back with a wildfire surcharge. I have cedar right up to the deck."
You own acreage in the Hill Country and the cedar has gone from an eyesore to a liability. You want it cleared and recorded, with no burning and no debris hauled across your roads.
Sound familiar? "My carrier wants proof of defensible space. I don't know what they mean."
Ask your agent what the carrier wants first. We do the clearing and give you dated before and after photos to send. We cannot promise a premium change.
We walk and fly the property, map the fuel by zone and agree on the plan. You see what gets treated and why before the machine arrives.
Plan First
02
Work Built on the TFS Zones
We follow the Texas A&M Forest Service home ignition zones: 0–5, 5–30 and 30–100 ft. We do not certify compliance with any code.
Zone-Based
03
No Burning. No Hauling.
Cedar is ground in place by the FAE mulching head. No burn-ban delays, no smoke, no dump trucks and no tipping fees.
In-Place Method
04
A Before and After Record
Dated before and after photos of the cleared area that you can send to an insurer, HOA or buyer. They decide what to make of it.
Documented
05
Live Oak & Specimen Tree Preservation
Trees you want kept are marked in the plan and checked on the completion walk. You tell us what stays.
Trees Kept
06
Road and Driveway Clearing
We can clear cedar back from your roads and driveways. Ask your local fire department what width and height it needs.
Access
07
Yearly Follow-Up
Maintenance visits remove seedlings and update your photos, so the record matches what is on the ground.
Ongoing
08
A Permanent Property Record
Your before and after model is processed in Pix4D. Keep it for your file, your HOA board or a future buyer.
Record
09
Hill Country Ground
Limestone outcrops, cedar thickets and live oak groves are what we work in. We keep machines off foundations and root zones.
Local Work
FAQ
Wildfire Mitigation Questions Answered
What are the defensible space zones?+
The Texas A&M Forest Service describes three home ignition zones. Zone 1 is 0–5 ft (immediate), Zone 2 is 5–30 ft (intermediate) and Zone 3 is 30–100 ft (extended). We work them in that order, from the structure out.
Is defensible space required in Texas?+
Texas has no statewide defensible-space mandate. Inside Austin city limits the City of Austin Wildland-Urban Interface Code applies. Outside the city, your insurer, HOA or local fire department sets the ask. NFPA 1140 covers wildland fire protection for fire departments and code officials.
Will my insurance carrier accept your documentation?+
We cannot promise that. You get dated before and after photos and a short report to send to your agent. If your carrier has a specific format, tell us before the site walk and we will build to it where we can.
Why is mulching better than burning?+
Most Texas land-clearing burns fall under TCEQ outdoor-burning rules and county burn bans, so a burn-based job can stall for weeks. Mulching has no burn-ban delays and no smoke. Coarse mulch is also less flammable than dry grass and leaf litter, though it is still organic material.
How do you handle live oaks and specimen trees?+
We keep them. We clear the understory, raise the lowest limbs and mark each tree before the crew starts. We avoid pruning or wounding oaks from roughly February through June because of oak wilt.
How long does a defensible space project take?+
It depends on acreage, cedar density and terrain. A single-structure job can run a day or two, and a full three-zone job on 20 acres can run several days. Most jobs start 1–3 weeks after approval.
What areas do you serve?+
Austin and the Texas Hill Country, including Travis, Williamson, Hays, Burnet, Blanco, Llano, Gillespie and Kendall counties. Ask us about anything farther out.
Can you handle the clearing and the documentation together?+
Yes. The site walk, clearing and before and after photo record are one job with one contact and one invoice. An optional drone scan can be added.
We walk and fly your property, show you the fuel by zone, and send a written quote. Written quote within 48 hours of the site walk. No obligation to proceed.
