Emergency Tree Removal: What to Do in the First Hour
Get people out of the rooms under the tree, stay away from wires, photograph the damage, then call.
(888) 217-8480Calls go to independent providers taking emergency work in your area. Availability depends on the hour, the weather and local demand.
Emergency tree removal is for trees that are on something, or about to be: the roof, a car, a fence line, the only driveway, a wire. The steps below come before anyone starts a saw.
The first hour, in order
- Get everyone out of the rooms under the tree. Stay out of the attic under a cracked or sagging ceiling. Water may follow the tree in.
- Look for wires before you walk. If a line is down or tangled in the branches, assume it is live, keep at least 30 feet back and call the utility or 911.
- Check for gas. An uprooted tree can pull on a gas service line. If you smell gas, leave the house and call the gas company from outside.
- Photograph everything before it moves. Wide shots of the tree on the house, close-ups of the damage, the stump or root plate.
- Book the crew. Say what the tree is resting on, whether anyone is still inside, and whether a wire is involved.
- Open the insurance claim. Ask what the insurer needs from the tree crew, and keep every receipt.
24 hour emergency tree removal: what after hours really means
Emergency lines take calls around the clock, but whether a crew can roll at 2 a.m. depends on who is working in your area that night, the weather and how many other trees are down. After a big storm, every crew in town has a list. Yours is one line on it.
Night work is usually about making things safe rather than finishing the job, which can mean cutting the weight off the roof so the rafters stop carrying it, securing a limb that hangs over a bedroom window, or opening a way out of the driveway for a car that has to leave in the morning. The full removal waits for daylight. With rigging or a crane, the crew needs to see what it is cutting.
If a tree is on the house and the house is still dry and stable, a first-light appointment is often the safer plan anyway.
Tree fell on house: how a crew gets it off
The trunk on your roof is under load. Part of its weight sits on the rafters, part on the root plate or stump, and cutting it in the wrong place lets it drop or roll. That is why nobody should climb onto the roof to saw it loose.
On a big tree, the usual method is a crane. The crew rigs the trunk to the crane hook, cuts a section, and the crane lifts it clear so nothing more falls into the house. Smaller trees come off with ropes and a pulley set in a nearby tree, and once the roof is clear the crew or a roofer stretches a tarp over the opening so the next rain stays outside. A crane tree removal changes the price, and after a storm it also changes the wait.
Before anyone goes back into the damaged rooms, have a contractor look at the rafters and ceiling. A roof that took a trunk can look fine from below.
What to say when you call
The person on the line needs four things, and the order matters less than getting all of them: what the tree is resting on, whether anyone is still in the rooms underneath, whether a wire runs through the branches or lies on the ground, and how a truck or a crane could reach the house from the street. If the same tree blocks the driveway, say so, because it changes what equipment can get close. Mention a gate code or a dog. Small details save an hour.
Emergency tree service beyond the house
- Across the driveway. If it blocks the only way a car can leave, many homeowners policies treat removal as covered even with no damage to the house.
- On a car. The car is a claim on the other-than-collision part of your auto policy; the tree removal usually runs through the homeowners claim.
- Hanging in another tree. A broken leader or limb caught in a crown can drop without warning. Keep people and pets out from under it.
- Split and leaning. A trunk that cracked in the storm and now leans toward the house is an emergency even if it has not moved yet.
Cost of emergency tree removal
Expect it to cost more than a planned removal of the same tree. After-hours labor, a crane on short notice and working around damage all add time and risk. Ask for an itemized invoice: the insurer will want the tree removal separated from any tarping or temporary repairs.
Coverage depends on what the tree hit and why it fell. Standard homeowners policies commonly pay for removing a tree that a covered peril brought down onto the house, usually with a per-tree limit on the debris removal part. The page on who pays for tree removal walks through it, and tree removal cost covers planned work.
Emergency tree removal: questions from the first night
Should I try to pull the tree off the roof myself?
No. A trunk resting on a roof is often holding part of the damage in place, and cut or pulled the wrong way it drops further into the house or rolls toward whoever is standing below. Leave it for a crew with rigging or a crane.
Can a crew come in the middle of the night?
Sometimes. Night work is usually limited to making the house safe, such as taking weight off the roof or clearing the driveway, with the full removal in daylight. Availability depends on the providers taking calls in your area at that hour.
Who fixes the roof?
A roofer or general contractor, after the tree is off. Many tree crews will tarp the hole before they leave, and insurers generally expect reasonable steps to stop more damage, like a tarp, so keep the receipt.
A tree is leaning on my house but has not broken anything. Is that an emergency?
Treat it as one. A tree resting on a gutter or a wall can shift in the next gust, so keep people out of the rooms under it and book the crew now rather than waiting to see whether it settles.
What if a wire is tangled in the tree?
Assume it is live. Stay well back, keep others away and call the utility first, because tree crews cannot work near an energized line until the utility has made it safe, however urgent the rest of the job looks.