How to choose a fire mitigation contractor

What kind of company should do fire mitigation?

It depends on what your property needs. Most home-site fuel reduction is tree work: thinning crowded conifers, removing ladder fuels, pruning low limbs and taking down dead or poorly placed trees close to buildings. That favors a tree company with an arborist. Large-acreage thinning and fuel breaks are forestry work, sometimes with mastication equipment. Clearing brush and grass can be done by a landscape crew. Many jobs mix all three, so the question is whether the company you call can do the parts your property actually has, including the hardest tree near the house.

What insurance should a fire mitigation contractor carry?

General liability, and workers' compensation for anyone who is not the owner. Liability covers damage the work does to your property or a neighbor's: a limb through a roof, a crushed fence. Workers' compensation covers injuries to the people doing the work, and tree care is work where, in OSHA's words, many workers get hurt or killed from falls, electrocutions or being struck by trees.

The International Society of Arboriculture's advice is to ask for proof of insurance and call the insurance company. Montana's Department of Labor & Industry, in its guidance on hiring an independent contractor, says to request proof of the contractor's Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate or workers' compensation coverage, confirm it is in good standing through the department's online licensee lookup, and check periodically that it is still valid. Our guide to tree service insurance in Montana explains why an exemption certificate is not insurance and what the department says about the risk to the hiring party.

Does Montana license fire mitigation contractors?

Not as a separate trade, as far as the state's own pages show. The Department of Labor & Industry's Construction Contractor License page says that effective 1 January 2026 construction contractors in Montana must be licensed with the department, and defines a construction contractor around constructing structures or improvements attached to real estate. Vegetation work is not named in that definition. The same page points to the state's licensee lookup for verifying credentials. If a company also does hardscape, fencing or structural work, ask what licenses it holds and look them up.

Locally, the City of Missoula keeps a list of tree services permitted to work in the city right of way. The city says businesses on it are licensed by the City, carry commercial liability insurance at or above a level the city sets, and have an ISA Certified Arborist on staff, and that it does not promote any one company. If your trees are inside city limits, that list is a useful filter.

Why does an ISA Certified Arborist matter for fire work?

Because fuel reduction is a series of decisions about living trees, and a bad decision lasts decades. Which trees stay, how much of the crown can be removed, how high to limb, what to do with a tree that has a defect: those are arboriculture questions. ISA describes its certification as a nongovernmental, voluntary process by which individuals document their knowledge, says certificate holders must continue their education, and offers a Verify a Credential tool on TreesAreGood.org.

Over-pruning is the common failure. NFPA's guidance and the Colorado State Forest Service guide both cap limbing at six to ten feet or one third of the tree's height for shorter trees. Topping a tree to reduce its height is not fire mitigation; our tree topping guide explains why. Ask who holds the credential and whether that person will be on your job, not just on the estimate. More in our guide to ISA Certified Arborists.

Why ask about line-clearance qualification?

Because on wooded lots in the wildland-urban interface, the trees a fuel reduction plan wants thinned are often the ones near a service drop or distribution line. OSHA's tree care guidance tells crews to keep work at least 10 feet from power lines or have the power company de-energize and ground the line. The federal standard for electric power work covers line-clearance tree trimming separately and distinguishes between qualified and unqualified line-clearance tree trimmers.

A company without that qualification has to exclude trees near lines from its scope, leave them to the utility, or find someone else. Ask directly whether trees near lines are in or out of the estimate. Our co-owner Justin Johnson is an ISA Certified Arborist (RM-8889A) with line-clearance qualification, which is why we can take that work on; see tree work near power lines.

Which spacing standard is the contractor working to?

Ask, because published guidance differs and a good contractor can explain the difference. NFPA's checklist suggests at least 18 feet between crowns from 5 to 30 feet out, 12 feet from 30 to 60 feet and 6 feet from 60 to 100 feet, and says the distance needed could be significantly greater because of slope, species and site conditions. The Colorado State Forest Service guide, written mainly for ponderosa, Douglas-fir and mixed conifer, uses at least 10 feet between crowns in its 5 to 30 foot zone and lets small groups of two or three trees stand with 30 feet between groups. A contractor who cannot tell you what spacing the plan uses, or why, is guessing. Our thinning guide goes into detail.

Does the contractor need to work with cost-share programs?

If you plan to use one, yes. Missoula County's Wildfire Ready cost-share page says the landowner meets with forestry contractors who can carry out the treatment plan, that a list of approved contractors is available, that the county and the landowner each sign a contract with the contractor, and that the county pays its share directly to the contractor after inspecting the completed work. A contractor who has not worked through that process should at least be willing to. Ask before you sign. The programs are collected in our cost-share and grants guide.

How do you compare two fire mitigation bids?

Line by line on scope, not on the total. ISA advises getting more than one estimate, not always accepting the lowest bid, and examining the written specifications to find the best combination of price, work, skills and professionalism. For fuel reduction, the specifications that matter are the area treated, crown spacing and limbing height, which trees are removed, how slash is handled, whether removals near buildings need climbing or a lift, and what the site looks like at the end.

A bid that is much lower often leaves slash in piles for you, skips the hard trees near the house, or limbs everything to the same height regardless of tree size. Our questions to ask before hiring turn that into a checklist, and our cost factors guide explains what moves the number.

What should the contract say?

Montana's Department of Labor & Industry says a contract with an independent contractor should state what is to be performed, the materials, and start and completion dates, should tie payment to the completed project, and should address liability for failing to complete it. It also recommends getting references and checking them. ISA adds that most reputable arborists have clients sign a contract and that you should read it carefully and ask questions.

What are the red flags?

ISA warns to be wary of people who go door to door offering bargains. Others: no proof of insurance, or insurance proof that comes from the contractor rather than the agent; a plan to clear everything; promises that the work makes your house fireproof or guarantees insurance; telling you the law requires the work without being able to show you the rule (our Montana wildfire laws guide covers what applies); and pressure to cut in the middle of summer. Wanting full payment up front for a multi-day job is worth questioning too.

Where do you find fire mitigation contractors?

Ask the people who did your assessment; fire agencies and county programs work with local contractors and can tell you who carries out their plans. Check the City of Missoula's certified arborist list. Look at our roundup of fire mitigation companies in the Bitterroot and Missoula, which lists only companies whose own websites describe the work. And ask neighbors who have had it done.

Hold us to the same checks. Ask for our insurance certificates and look up Justin's credential yourself. This guide is part of our Montana Wildfire & Defensible Space Guide, and our fire mitigation page describes what we do. Call HJ Property Care & Tree Service at (406) 215-7319 or request a free estimate and we will walk the property with you.

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