Emergency Storm Tree Service in Chattanooga, TN

Emergency storm tree service is about getting a fallen or broken tree off a house, a car, a driveway or a fence safely, and making the rest of the property safe after that. Chattanooga knows what that looks like. The Easter night tornado of 2020 cut an 18-mile path through East Brainerd, Drake Forest, Holly Hills and Ooltewah and damaged more than 2,700 properties; in 2011 the April 27 outbreak hit Apison. Most storm calls are smaller than that: a summer thunderstorm that drops a limb through a porch roof, or a wet snow that bends a pine onto the garage. Each one starts the same way.

First, stay safe

If a tree or limb is touching a power line, assume the line is live. Stay well away, keep children and pets inside, and call EPB. Do not try to pull branches off a line or cut a tree that is resting on one. If a tree has come through the roof, leave the rooms underneath it. If you smell gas, leave the house and call the gas company from outside.

Then, call with details

You can call (423) 206-3918 any time to leave details. Tell us what is down, what it is on, whether anyone is hurt or trapped (if so, call 911 first), whether lines are involved and whether a driveway or exit is blocked. Photos from a safe distance help. After a widespread storm, calls are handled in order of danger: trees on occupied houses, blocked exits and hanging limbs over walkways come before trees lying across a lawn.

How a tree comes off a roof

A tree resting on a house is under tension in ways that are hard to read. Cutting in the wrong place can let it shift, roll or spring. The usual approach is to secure the tree with ropes, take off the top and limbs in small pieces, and lift or lower the trunk off the structure in sections; for very large trees a crane is sometimes the safest way to lift the weight clear. Once the tree is off, the roof can be tarped by you or your roofer to keep rain out until repairs are made.

Hanging limbs and split trunks

Broken limbs caught in the canopy, sometimes called hangers or widowmakers, can fall hours or days after a storm. A tree that split at a fork or was partly uprooted, with the soil lifted on one side, may still be standing but is often unstable. These are worth having looked at before anyone walks or parks underneath.

Paperwork for insurance

If you plan to file a homeowner's insurance claim, take photos of the damage before anything is moved, as long as it is safe to do so. We provide a written, itemized invoice that describes the work done, which is what most insurers ask for. What is covered is between you and your insurance company.