Case Study: 60-Foot Pine Tree Removal in Henderson — Safe Extraction Next to a Family Home

A Henderson homeowner contacted Benjamin's Tree Service after noticing their backyard Mondell pine had started leaning toward their home. The tree had been part of the landscape for over 20 years, providing shade across the patio and backyard play area. Over the past two seasons, the lean had become more noticeable, and several large branches had dropped during a spring wind event.

What started as a routine assessment call turned into one of the more complex residential removals our crew handled that quarter — and a clear example of why hazard trees near structures cannot be put off.

The Initial Assessment

Our ISA Certified Arborist visited the property and conducted a full structural evaluation. The findings were more serious than the homeowner expected:

• The tree had developed a 12-degree lean toward the house — well beyond the safe threshold for a tree of this size
• A sounding test revealed significant internal decay in the lower trunk. Tapping produced a hollow tone across roughly 40% of the trunk's circumference at the base
• The root plate on the house side had lifted slightly, with visible soil cracking extending about three feet from the trunk
• Two codominant stems at the 20-foot mark showed included bark — a structural weakness where the stems press against each other instead of forming a strong union
• Several large scaffold branches were dead, with bark already sloughing off, indicating the tree had been declining for at least two to three years

The arborist's recommendation was clear: this tree could not be saved through pruning or cabling. The internal decay, root plate failure, and structural defects created a combined failure risk that was unacceptable given the tree's proximity to the home — roughly eight feet from the trunk to the roofline.

The Challenge

Removing a 60-foot pine that is eight feet from a house, over a block wall, and adjacent to a neighbor's property is not a straightforward cut-and-drop operation. The project presented several specific challenges:

• No room for the tree to be felled in any direction without hitting the house, the block wall, or the neighbor's landscape
• A pool sat 15 feet from the base on the opposite side of the home, limiting equipment staging
• The backyard access was through a standard 36-inch gate — no way to drive equipment in
• Power lines ran along the back alley, roughly 25 feet from the canopy edge
• The homeowner's children's play structure sat directly under the canopy drip line

This was a full rigging job. Every section of the tree had to be cut, controlled with ropes, and lowered to the ground. Nothing could free-fall.

The Removal Process

Our crew spent the first morning setting up rigging anchor points in the tree and establishing a drop zone in the only safe area of the yard — a 10-by-15-foot section of turf between the patio and the block wall.

Day One — Crown Removal

The climber ascended the tree and began removing the upper canopy in sections, starting from the tips and working inward. Each branch was cut, tied to a lowering line, and controlled down to the ground crew. The dead branches in the upper canopy were handled first — these were the most unpredictable because dead wood is brittle and can snap in unexpected ways under the weight of a climbing arborist.

By end of day one, the entire crown had been removed down to the two codominant stems. The tree now looked like a 35-foot telephone pole with a Y at the top.

Day Two — Trunk Sections and Stump

The codominant stems were rigged and removed one at a time. The stem with included bark was handled with extra care — the weak union meant the cut could cause the stem to split and swing unpredictably. Our climber used a notch-and-back-cut technique with a tag line to control the piece's direction as it separated.

With the stems removed, the remaining trunk was taken down in 4-foot sections. Each section — weighing between 200 and 400 pounds — was lowered on a friction device to the ground crew. The final 10-foot stump section was felled into the drop zone.

A stump grinder was brought in through the back gate (a compact unit designed for residential access) and ground the stump 12 inches below grade. The hole was backfilled with clean fill and the grindings mixed with topsoil.

The Result

The homeowner's property went from having a ticking hazard to a clean, open backyard ready for its next chapter. The full scope of work:

• 60-foot Mondell pine safely removed with zero property damage
• All wood and debris hauled away — roughly 3.5 tons of material
• Stump ground below grade and backfilled
• Irrigation line that had been damaged by surface roots was flagged for repair
• Total project time: 2 days with a 3-person crew

The homeowner later told us they had been putting off the removal for over a year because they were worried about damage to the house during the process. The tree's lean had worsened noticeably during that time. If a monsoon storm had hit before the removal, the outcome could have been very different.

Key Takeaways for Las Vegas Homeowners

This project illustrates several important points about large tree removal in the Las Vegas Valley:

• Internal decay is invisible from the outside. A tree can look reasonably healthy while being structurally compromised from within. The only way to know is a professional assessment with sounding, boring, or resistograph testing.
• Lean plus decay is a critical combination. A leaning tree with a sound trunk can sometimes be cabled or monitored. A leaning tree with internal decay is a removal candidate — the question is when, not if.
• Proximity to structures increases urgency and complexity. The closer the tree is to your home, the less margin for error during removal and the higher the consequence if the tree fails on its own.
• Waiting costs more. A planned removal under controlled conditions is safer, less expensive, and causes less property disruption than an emergency removal after a failure.
• Not every removal needs a crane. Skilled rigging and an experienced climbing crew can handle complex removals in tight residential spaces without heavy equipment — keeping costs down and minimizing yard damage.

About Benjamin's Tree Service

Benjamin's Tree Service has been providing tree removal, trimming, stump grinding, and emergency response across the Las Vegas Valley since 2001. Our ISA Certified Arborists serve Henderson, Summerlin, North Las Vegas, Paradise, Spring Valley, Enterprise, and every community in between. If you have a tree that concerns you — whether it is leaning, declining, or just too close for comfort — contact us for a free tree inspection. Call 725-300-0399 to schedule your assessment.