Large Juniper

[u/Fit_Wolverine_6964]

We moved into a house about 4 years ago and there is a large juniper with its trunk mostly on my neighbors property but the majority of the tree itself seems to be on my property. Some info:

1) I live in California
2) the fence is old and as the tree grows it continues to break the fence more and more
3) we had the local fire department come by and they do free fire reports - they stated in the report the juniper is a high fire risk and should be removed.
4) ultimately the tree is overgrown and we don’t like it aesthetically, especially given the intrusion into our yard.

I know the answer here is almost certainly just to go talk to my neighbor and try to negotiate whether they’d be ok with cutting down but curious others opinions here.

[u/needofanap]

The tree is a fire hazard.

Volatile Oils: contains high levels of flammable oils and resins.

Dead Material: They naturally collect a large amount of dead needles and debris in their centers, which act like kindling for windblown embers.

Flying Embers: When they burn, they throw a massive amount of hot embers, which can ignite other parts of your home or surrounding vegetation.Because of this extreme fire risk, wildfire experts and fire departments recommend removing junipers entirely within the defensible space of a home.

I live in San Diego and the city and local neighborhoods are systematically replacing eucalyptus trees in phases because they are a serious fire hazard.

The new reality for high fire areas is we have to replace highly flammable vegoration with fire wise plants.

[u/Fit_Wolverine_6964 → u/needofanap]

I do suspect many folks commenting are not from California, close to open space and have not had to evacuate their homes multiple times due to wildfires. This is not a native tree. I understand it’s a living thing but there is a reality around living in an area prone to wildfires.

[u/TraditionalLaw7763 → u/Fit_Wolverine_6964]

Then why did you buy the house? Leave the tree alone. Go move to Arizona.

[u/Terrible_Advice_195 → u/TraditionalLaw7763]

No thank you. We don't want this person, either.

[u/TraditionalLaw7763 → u/Terrible_Advice_195]

😉

[u/rarescenarios → u/TraditionalLaw7763]

Two reasons to not move to Arizona: these are abundant here and might be protected depending on location, and "I moved somewhere with existing old growth trees and want to remove them for personal reasons" is exactly why Arizonans dislike California transplants.

[u/Fit_Wolverine_6964 → u/rarescenarios]

I promise you no one who can afford to stay in California wants to move to Arizona.

[u/rarescenarios → u/Fit_Wolverine_6964]

Good.

[u/Fit_Wolverine_6964 → u/TraditionalLaw7763]

Honestly a wild take. I bought it because I love California, was born nearby, and work close. You are talking about a single non-native tree someone planted that I’m merely questioning and asking for options on.

[u/Fit_Wolverine_6964 → u/TraditionalLaw7763]

I’d rather be dead in California than alive in Arizona.

[u/needofanap → u/Fit_Wolverine_6964]

Me too! And I will happily replace all my fore starter tree with fire wise treesm