Fence Companies in Southwest Reno

Fire history on the west side

Southwest Reno has seen some of the region's most destructive fires. In November 2011, power-line arcing started the Caughlin Fire, which destroyed 26 homes. In September 2024, the Davis Fire burned heavily forested areas of Southwest Reno, destroyed 14 structures and forced 20,000 people to evacuate. Reno's history notes that roughly 80 percent of homes in the area face some wildfire risk.

A wood fence that runs up to a house can carry fire to the wall. Washoe County's wildland-urban interface code requires any part of a fence within 5 feet of a building to be noncombustible or as fire-resistive as the exterior walls. Even where your lot is inside Reno city limits, ask the permit counter how the WUI rules apply, and plan a steel, aluminum or masonry section and gate where the fence meets the house.

Foothill snow and slope

The Carson Range foothills on Reno's west side, roughly 4,700 to 5,600 feet, can get two to three times the snowfall of the valley floor, and western Reno gets three to four times the precipitation of the east side. Posts belong well below the 24-inch frost depth, rails and caps need to carry snow, and gates need clearance for drifts. Sloped lots call for stepped or racked panels, and a fence on top of a retaining wall is measured from the top of the wall in Reno.

Views and the City of Reno rules

On a lot that looks out over the valley, open wrought iron or aluminum fencing at the back keeps the view. Inside Reno city limits, every fence needs a permit, side and rear fences are limited to 6 feet, front yards to 4 feet, and lots that back onto open space or major drainageways need open fencing above 4 feet with no chain link except where specified.

Planned neighborhoods with an HOA usually have architectural rules; Reno's plot plan asks for HOA approval where it applies. Get the association's fence standards before choosing a design.