Tree Removal in Pilot Hill

Head 13 miles west-northwest from Placerville and you hit Pilot Hill, unincorporated, around 1,175 feet up. That's a bit below Cameron Park.

Miners got going in 1849. Three camps sat near each other then: Pittsfield, Centerville and one called Pilot Hill. They merged and went by Centerville for a while. In 1854 a post office opened and settled the name as Pilot Hill.

Today it shows up on the Farm Trails map. Over on historic Salmon Falls Road there's seasonal picking of grapes, olives and lavender, and Alabaster Cave isn't far off.

Pilot Hill has its own station, but it's unstaffed. El Dorado County Fire's Station 73 is at 4302 State Highway 49.

That puts more weight on your own clearing. On a rural lot, that usually means:

• Dead trees and dead limbs closest to the house go first.
• Brush along the driveway gets cut back, for fire engines coming in and you leaving.
• Limbing up oaks so grass fire can't climb into them.
• Keeping a mowed strip around barns and sheds.

Pilot Hill is in unincorporated El Dorado County, so the county's vegetation code and state defensible space law apply. So does the county rule on native oaks.

If you're doing a lot of clearing yourself, the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council's chipping program is worth a look when funding is open. Their rules on piles:

• Keep piles free of rocks, dirt, wire, lumber, poison oak and blackberries.
• Put piles where the equipment can reach and turn around.
• Don't add to a pile after you apply.
• Wider, spread-out piles chip easier than tall ones.

The drive out can add a trip charge, so ask. Beyond that, the guides give a fair range:

Sources: This Old House tree removal guide (updated March 2026); Thumbtack land clearing and tree removal guides (October 2026).

Got several trees? Get one quote for all of them. One trip out to Pilot Hill is cheaper than three.

If the free chipper is coming, location matters. The council says not to put piles along busy, heavily traveled roads, where extra crews or signs would be needed. Put them where the equipment can turn around, and where you don't mind leaving chips behind.

The same thinking helps when a tree pro comes. A clear spot near the road for the truck and chipper speeds things up. Speed usually means a lower bill.

Get the price in writing with the job spelled out. How many trees, which ones, and what happens to the wood. Ask for the pro's contractor license number and look it up on the state's Check a License search. Don't pay the whole bill up front. Pay when the job's done and you've walked it.

See Cool tree removal, Lotus tree removal and Coloma tree removal. Big clearing job? Read defensible space clearing. All towns: service areas.