Why a tree strike is two jobs
A tree that has already fallen is still a hazard. A broken limb caught in the canopy can keep moving hours after the wind has dropped, and a trunk or branch held under tension reacts when it is cut. The first thing done on site is a zone on the ground that people stay out of, wide enough to cover what could still come down, including the rooms beneath the break.
Anything touching a line stops the job. A limb across a service drop, or a conductor lying in the branches, is treated as live until the utility says otherwise, and the utility is called before a saw is started anywhere near it. Cal/OSHA Title 8 section 3423 bars tree trimming within 10 feet of an energized high-voltage line except by line-clearance qualified workers.
Taking a tree off a building is the opposite of felling one. The weight has to come down in pieces small enough that nothing drops onto what is already damaged, so sections are cut and lowered away from the opening. Under Cal/OSHA Title 8 section 3421 the work site is under the direction of a qualified tree worker, and the tree work follows the ANSI A300 tree care standard. What the tree did to the structure is often not visible until the last section is off.
The roof is still open when the tree is gone. That is the second job: a tarp over the hole, plywood on broken glazing and doors, and a check for water that came in with the limb, which passes to water damage restoration. FEMA asks for photographs and video before anything is discarded, so the tree is recorded where it landed.
What tree damage repair includes
Requests are taken 24 hours a day, and the window for each of the 32 cities is listed below. On arrival the ground under the break is taped off and the rooms beneath it are emptied, because the part still hanging is the part that moves next.
The tree, the roof and the ground are checked for anything electrical in contact with them. Where a line is involved the utility is called and nothing is cut until the area is safe.
The tree is photographed where it lies, with the roof, the rooms below and the damaged belongings, because once the sections come off nothing goes back as it was.
The site works under the direction of a qualified tree worker. Weight comes off in pieces lowered clear of the opening, and ownership of the tree, street or private, is recorded.
The hole the tree made is tarped and broken glazing is boarded before the crew leaves, so the building is not left open.
Trees next to the one that failed are looked over for cracks and hanging limbs, and the make-safe log closes with the time against each step and its photograph.
A tree on a building is never cut from the top down until the ground is clear. The zone comes first, the utility second, the saw third, and the photographs before all three, because the evidence leaves with the branches.
Where tree strikes do damage
Neighborhoods built before 1970
Old street trees reach across roofing that was already worn out, so a limb that would bounce off new material goes through the shingles and the ceiling.
Apartment carports and paths
Mature trees between buildings drop limbs onto carport roofs, parked cars and walkways, and residents are kept out of the zone while sections come down.
HOA tracts and landscape trees
Shallow-rooted landscape trees uproot when strong wind follows heavy rain and the ground has softened, taking fences, gutters and fascia down with them.
Buildings under overhead lines
Where branches grow up into a service drop, a failure puts the line and the tree on the building together, and nothing starts until the utility clears it.
Offices and hotel frontages
Large glazing close to old trees means a limb can put a lobby pane out, leaving the building open to the street with people inside.
Farm yards and outbuildings
Yard trees beside barns, shops and equipment sheds come down across metal roofs, and sections are lifted clear of what is stored underneath.
Questions about tree damage repair
The tree where it landed, the part still in the canopy, the opening it made, the rooms under it and any belongings it damaged. FEMA asks for photographs and video before anything is discarded, and on a tree strike the cutting is the discarding: once the sections are down, nobody can show how the weight sat.
Not until the utility has been out. Title 8 section 3423 bars tree trimming within 10 feet of an energized high-voltage line except by line-clearance qualified workers, and a line touching a tree or a building is treated as live. The zone is set, people kept out, and the wait is part of the job.
In pieces, lowered away from the damage, with the site under the direction of a qualified tree worker as Title 8 section 3421 sets out, and the tree work following the ANSI A300 tree care standard. Rigging sections down is what keeps the rest of the roof intact.
A street tree belongs to the city and a tree inside the property line to the owner, and which it is decides who is notified before work on it. The city page for your area names the local tree authority.
Yes. A tree beside one that failed can be cracked or partly uprooted without showing it from the ground, and dead branches, splits at a branch union, decay and heaved roots are the signs to check.
Tree damage repair by city
Tree damage repair is requested through the storm damage page for your city, which names the local tree authority and the response window.
Related storm damage services
