Emergency Storm Tree Service in Salt Lake City, UT

Emergency storm tree service in Salt Lake City is mostly about two kinds of weather: wind and wet snow. The September 2020 windstorm, with gusts over 100 mph and a 112 mph gust at the University of Utah, toppled thousands of trees across northern Utah and left nearly 200,000 homes and businesses without power. Most years bring nothing that severe, but an early-season snow on trees still in leaf, a spring storm on a blooming fruit tree or a summer thunderstorm downburst can split limbs and uproot trees in a matter of minutes.

First, stay away from wires

If a tree or limb is touching a power line, or a line is down, stay well back and call Rocky Mountain Power. The utility warns that contacting a power line can be fatal. No tree work should happen near those lines until the utility has made them safe. Call 911 if anyone is hurt or a line is sparking.

What we do first

Storm calls are handled by danger, not by the order they come in. A tree through a roof, a trunk leaning against the house, a limb blocking the only door or driveway, and hanging broken branches over a walkway come first. Once the immediate hazard is off the house, we can come back to cut up the rest, grind the stump and repair the remaining crown with proper pruning cuts.

Trees on houses

A tree resting on a roof often holds part of its weight on the structure; cutting it wrong can make the damage worse. These trees are taken off piece by piece, with heavy sections rigged and lowered. In tight spots, a crane is sometimes the safest way to lift a trunk off a house, and the quote will say if that's what the job needs. Take photos of the damage before anything is moved if you plan to file an insurance claim.

Park strip and street trees

If a city tree or a big limb from one is blocking the street, sidewalk or your driveway, Salt Lake City Urban Forestry asks you to call (801) 972-7818, and it lists storm cleanup among its park strip services. Calls about city trees go to the city, not to a private company.

Cracked but still standing

After a storm, look for fresh cracks in the trunk, split forks, broken branches hung up in the canopy and soil lifted around the roots. A tree that came through with only a few broken limbs can often be kept with good pruning. One that's cracked through the main fork or lifted at the roots usually can't.