Brush clearing and junk removal in Ojai, CA

Ojai homes, by the numbers

Ojai is small: about 3,150 lived-in homes and about 7,600 people (Census Reporter, Ojai). About 76 percent of the homes were built before 1980, the highest share of any town on this site, and only about 9 percent in 2000 or later. About 75 percent are detached houses.

Old houses on bigger lots, with oaks, brush and outbuildings, set the kind of work: clearing, hauling green waste, emptying old sheds and garages, and pulling out what has grown over the years.

Brush clearance in the Ojai Valley

The Ojai Valley is fire country, and all of it falls under Ventura County Fire. Ventura County Fire’s Fire Hazard Reduction Program mails a Notice to Abate Fire Hazard every April 20, and clearance is due June 1: commonly 100 feet around buildings and 10 feet along roads (Ventura County Fire). Its reach includes the county’s wildland-urban interface, anywhere within 500 feet of brush, grass or grain covered land, and the rules cover ornamental landscaping too, which has to be kept watered and free of dead material (FHRP FAQ).

Oaks are common in Ojai yards, and the county’s guide says trees over 6 feet tall are limbed up 6 feet or a third of their height, whichever is less, with litter under them kept to 2 inches. Our guide to Ventura County’s brush clearance rules has the full list.

Drop-offs for Ojai residents

The county holds household hazardous waste collection events for Ojai at the Pollution Prevention Center in Ventura and the Santa Clara River Valley facility in Fillmore, and Gold Coast Recycling and Transfer Station takes e-waste from Ojai residents (Ventura County hazardous waste, e-waste list).

For a full trailer of brush or a cleanout, brush clearing, land clearing and junk removal handle the hauling.