Storm and emergency response
Storm damage needs a safe next step.
After wind or ice, the first thing that matters is which parts of your yard your family should stay out of. Call us and we will tell you plainly what the next step is.
After you call
What the first hour looks like.
You reach a person
A storm call is answered by someone who can ask the right questions about what came down and where your family is in relation to it.
You are told if this is a 911 call first
If there is a line down, a tree on the house with people underneath it, or anyone hurt, we will say so plainly and tell you to call emergency services and your utility before us.
You get an honest answer on timing
Storm weeks fill up. Rather than a vague promise, you are told where your job realistically sits and what you can safely do in the meantime.
Before you do anything else
If any of this is true, stay back.
Downed or sagging power lines
Treat every line on the ground, in a tree or across a driveway as live. Keep people and pets well back and call 911 and your utility provider before anything else happens.
A tree resting on a structure
A tree on a roof, a porch or a vehicle is still carrying load. Get everyone out of the rooms underneath and do not climb up to look at it.
Hung-up or split limbs
Broken limbs caught in the canopy can release with no warning and no wind. Stay out from under them, including the part of the yard they would reach.
Blocked access and uprooted trees
A root plate that has lifted can settle back suddenly. Leave the drive or lane blocked rather than trying to cut your way through it.
Life-safety situations go to emergency services and your utility first. Once everyone in the house is safe, call us. Tell us the address, what is blocked or damaged, and send photos from a safe distance. Storm calls are handled as they come in and we will give you an honest answer on when we can be there.
Which parts of the yard everyone stays out of tonight
Before anything gets cut, we work out where your family, your kids and your pets should not be. That comes from reading the tension in what is left — a stem under bend, a limb hung in the canopy, a root plate that has lifted. The same reading sets the order the material comes apart in.
- Loaded, hung-up and leaning material identified first, and the ground under it closed off
- Contact with the house, the car, fences and lines noted before cutting
- A cut order set so nothing releases while people are nearby
Getting your driveway open first
The first thing most families need back is the ability to leave the house — and the ability for an ambulance or a fire truck to reach it. So the driveway, the front door and the utility path come first. After that we work the remaining material in a controlled order, chip the brush, cut and haul the larger stems, and rake and blow the disturbed areas.
- Driveway, entries and utility access cleared first so you can get in and out
- The plan explained in plain language, so nobody in the house is guessing
- Brush chipped, wood cut and hauled, ground raked out
Photographs so you are not arguing from memory
Weeks later, when someone asks what the damage actually looked like, you should not have to rely on memory. We photograph the damage before we start and the site when we finish, and we write down what was removed. Those photos and that scope are yours, and many families pass them to their insurer. We do not file claims, speak to adjusters on your behalf, or advise on what a policy covers.
Call us. We will tell you what to do next.
Tell us the address, what is blocked, leaning or resting on something, and whether anyone is shut out of part of the house. You will get a straight answer on the next step.