TOO BIG TO DROP? WE LIFT IT OUT.

Here is how crane tree removal works. The climber rigs a section. The crane takes the weight before the cut is ever finished. Then the piece swings out over your roof, your fence, your pool, and comes down flat in the drop zone. No half-ton limb falling next to the house. That is the whole job: control.

Rafael runs the pick himself, a 40-ton rig with an NCCCO certified operator on the levers. Recent lifts include a mature olive tree, the kind of heavy, awkward pick this Valley grows better than anywhere. (Moving a living tree instead of removing one? That is its own craft and its own page.)

The Shaver Lake emergency. After the big rains, an older redwood up at Shaver started leaning at a cabin, days from coming down on it and turning into an insurance claim. The homeowner called a tree service, the tree service called Patriot, and the rig was on the mountain within a day or two. No flat driveways up there: the crane set up on slope with heavy cribbing, and the crew took the tree apart limb by limb, the crane holding tension on every piece before the cut so nothing kicked toward the cabin. Twelve hours on site. The cabin never took a scratch.

The Kerman valley oak. A massive oak limb had grown out over a house, and valley oaks are notorious for dropping big branches with no warning. Not an emergency yet, which is the best time to fix it: the crew rigged the limb, the crane took its weight, and it came off in controlled sections instead of through the roof on some random Tuesday.

Why the crane and not just ropes. A good climbing crew can dolly smaller limbs down on riggings. But when the wood gets massive, there is nothing to dolly: the play is a strap on the section, tension from the crane, then the cut, then the lift. Limbs kick the instant they are cut. The crane version costs roughly $1,100 to $2,000 for the lift, and Rafael puts it plainly: that number against landing a limb on someone's house, or even their driveway, because a big limb cracks a driveway and now somebody is buying concrete. Tree services that build the crane into their bid are de-risking their own insurance and showing the customer their place matters.

Straight answers.

Can you remove a tree without dropping limbs near the house? That is the whole point of using a crane. Every section is rigged, lifted, and swung to the drop zone. Nothing free-falls next to your house or your neighbor's yard.

Do you work with tree services or directly with homeowners? Both. Tree companies bring the saw crew and Patriot handles the picks. Homeowners can call direct and Rafael coordinates with your contractor.

What does it cost? Four-hour minimum; reach, weight, time, and access decide the rest, with the crane side typically running $1,100 to $2,000. Call with the address and a photo of the tree: (559) 928-6702 gets you a straight number.

How fast can you get here? The Shaver Lake emergency went from first call to crane on the mountain within a day or two. When the calendar allows, same day happens: Rafael has turned the rig around mid-drive for an urgent pick. If a tree is leaning at your house, call now, not Monday.

Do I need a tree service lined up first? That is the first thing Rafael asks, because the answer should be yes. The tree crew runs the saws and the rigging; the crane takes the weight. It is a tandem job, and Patriot works with professional crews so every cut lands where it is supposed to. If you do not have one, Rafael will coordinate with your contractor.

Anything I should do before the crane arrives? Clear the space. The truck is thirty-five feet of heavy rig, and newer neighborhoods are tight. Cars out of the driveway and street parking clear means the crane sets up where the lift plan wants it, not where it can squeeze.

Need the crane for something else? See tree transplanting and moving, crane rental in Fresno, same-day and emergency lifts, or send the specs through the big jobs form.