Land clearing in Fallbrook costs $150 per hour with a 4-hour minimum, operator and fuel included. Cutting 100 feet of defensible space around a house takes 4 to 8 hours with the skid steer brush cutter. A half acre of light brush is 4 to 8 hours; an acre of heavy brush or a dead grove is a one- to three-day job.
Fallbrook, Bonsall, Rainbow and Valley Center are in a high fire hazard zone, and every property owner is required to keep 100 feet of defensible space around structures. We clear it with a brush cutter on the Bobcat T300, which mows chaparral, weeds and small trees far faster than a crew with weed whackers, and does it on the slopes where most of the fuel grows.
Beyond fire clearance we clear lots for building, cut back overgrown acreage, open fence lines and trails, and take out old avocado and citrus groves that have died back. Dead groves are pulled stump and all with the mini excavator, so the ground is ready for a pad, a new planting or pasture instead of a field of stumps.
Cut brush is piled for your green waste pickup or for chipping. On larger clears we arrange a chipper or a roll-off so the material leaves the property. Hauling and disposal are quoted separately before we start.
Watch: land clearing on a real job
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Weed abatement on a vacant lot, from the air
The Bobcat T300 with the brush cutter takes a lot of waist-high dry grass and mustard down to stubble between the neighbors' fences. Drone footage of the pass along the hedge, then the whole cleared lot: mowed rows, no fuel against the houses, ready for the fire inspection.
What is included
- ✓Skid steer brush cutter for weeds, chaparral, sage, mustard and small trees
- ✓Mini excavator with thumb for stumps, root balls, dead trees and boulders
- ✓100-foot defensible space cut to North County Fire and CAL FIRE guidance
- ✓Fence lines, trails, fire breaks and access roads opened and cleared
- ✓Brush piled for chipping or pickup; chipping or haul-off arranged on request
- ✓Grading of the cleared area if it is going to be a pad, a road or a planting
Typical hours and cost
Everything is $150 per hour with a 4-hour minimum. Here is what the common versions of this job usually take.
| Typical job | Hours | At $150 per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Cut 100 feet of defensible space around a home on a sloped lot | 4 to 8 | $600 to $1,200 |
| Clear a half acre of weeds and light brush | 4 to 8 | $600 to $1,200 |
| Clear an acre of heavy chaparral and small trees | 8 to 16 | $1,200 to $2,400 |
| Remove a dead avocado grove, trees and stumps, per acre | 12 to 24 | $1,800 to $3,600 |
| Open a 300-foot fence line or fire break | 4 | $600 |
| Clear and rough-grade a lot for a building pad | 8 to 16 | $1,200 to $2,400 |
Hours are typical ranges for normal ground and access. Rock, roots, steep slopes and tight gates add time. Material, haul-off and dump fees are quoted separately. 4-hour minimum applies.
The equipment
- Bobcat T300 with a hydraulic brush cutter: a rotary mower deck that takes down brush and saplings up to a few inches thick and works on the slopes where hand crews cannot.
- Mini excavator with a thumb to pull stumps and root balls whole, stack dead trees, and lift boulders out of the way.
- Chipper and roll-off arranged through local partners when the material has to leave the property.
Land Clearing in Fallbrook and North County
Fallbrook's fire history is recent and local. The Lilac Fire in December 2017 burned through Bonsall and the Rancho Monserate area, and the Rice Fire in 2007 came down out of Rainbow. North County Fire Protection District inspects defensible space every spring, and weed abatement notices go out to properties that have not cut by early summer. We get busy in April and May; booking in March gets you ahead of the inspection and the fire season.
Avocado groves are the other half of the clearing we do. Decades of water prices and root rot have left dead and abandoned groves all over Fallbrook, De Luz and Bonsall, and the county counts dead trees as fuel. Pulling a grove means stumps as well as trunks, which is excavator work, and leaves ground you can grade, replant or fence for horses.