Tree Service in Old River, CA

Tree Service in Old River is farm-country work. Old River is a small unincorporated community about 9.5 miles southwest of Bakersfield, settled in the 1870s and named for the old bed of the Kern River. After Kern County was created in 1866, the river's main channel ran through downtown Bakersfield along what is now Truxtun Avenue and then south along today's Old River Road, before floods and later diversions moved the water elsewhere. Irrigation canals still follow those old channels south.

Canals and trees

Trees grow fast along canal banks and wet ditches, and many rural properties around Old River have rows of trees that came up where water seeped. Those trees often lean toward the water, have shallow roots and drop limbs into the channel. Work near canals takes some care: we do not want brush or logs going into the water, and the canal operator may have its own rules for its banks.

A very small place

Only about 120 people lived in Old River at the 2020 census, on just under a square mile. Most properties are rural homes and farm parcels. That usually means room to fell trees in one piece and fewer neighbors to worry about, which can keep costs reasonable. It also means longer haul distances and larger volumes of brush, which we price into the estimate.

Common Old River jobs

• Removing dead or leaning trees near homes and barns
• Thinning or replacing old windbreak rows
• Clearing trees and brush along ditches and canal edges on private land
• Pruning shade trees around farmhouses
• Palm cleanup and palm removal
• Stump grinding for fields and yards

Water still decides

The Kern River no longer flows through Old River; most of its water is diverted in Bakersfield for agriculture and city supply. Trees here survive on irrigation, canal seepage and groundwater. When a well is shut down or irrigation patterns change, nearby trees can decline over a season or two. A dead top on an old cottonwood or eucalyptus is a common sign.

Wood and wildlife

Rural tree rows and canal banks are also nesting habitat. Where we can, we schedule large removals outside spring nesting season, and we look for active nests before cutting.

Old windbreaks

Many farms southwest of Bakersfield planted rows of eucalyptus or other fast trees as windbreaks decades ago. Those rows tend to be crowded, with dead trees mixed in and heavy limbs over farm roads. We can remove just the dead and dangerous trees, thin the row, or take it out entirely, priced in sections.

Request an estimate

Call (661) 451-7519 or send the form with directions. We come out, walk the property with you and write up what we recommend. call (661) 451-7519