Storm Response · 6 min read
Straight-line winds and ice do most of the tree damage in this region, and the instinct after either one is to grab a saw and start cutting. That instinct causes injuries and costs people insurance money.
Here is a better order.
Before you touch anything: look up, then document
Look up before you walk in. Hanging limbs, the ones people call widow-makers, are the single biggest cause of injuries after a storm, and they are quiet, patient, and invisible if you are looking at the ground. Also assume any line on or near a downed tree is live and call the utility rather than guessing.
Then photograph everything before you move it. Wide shots, close shots, anything touching a structure, and anything blocking access. Once debris is cleared, the evidence is gone, and adjusters pay on what can be shown.
First priority: access, not tidiness
Clear the driveway and the lane before anything else, even if the mess in the yard is more visible. If emergency services, a power crew, or an insurance adjuster cannot reach the property, nothing else can progress.
This is usually the fastest part of the job and the one that unlocks everything else. It is also the work we prioritise when a call comes in.
Second: anything touching a structure
A tree resting on a roof, a fence, or an outbuilding is holding load, and cutting it in the wrong order lets that load move suddenly. This is genuinely dangerous work and it is where most serious storm-cleanup injuries happen.
It is also where equipment matters more than technique. Being able to support the trunk while it is cut is what makes it safe. If a tree is on a building, that is a call to make rather than a job to attempt.
Third: the field, the fence line, and the woods
Once access and structures are handled, the rest is a clearing job rather than an emergency, and it can be scheduled sensibly. This is where mulching earns its keep. Scattered downed timber and the tangle of brush that comes with it can be processed on site instead of stacked and hauled.
Fence lines deserve early attention if you run livestock, for obvious reasons.
What not to do yourself
Do not cut anything under tension. A bent-over sapling or a trunk supported at both ends stores an enormous amount of energy and releases it instantly and unpredictably. Do not work alone, do not work from a ladder with a saw, and do not work anywhere a hanging limb is above you.
And do not sign anything with a crew that shows up unsolicited the day after a storm quoting a number without walking the property. That pattern is well known in this region after every major weather event.
Insurance, in practical terms
Policies commonly cover removal when a tree hits an insured structure or blocks a driveway, and commonly do not cover a tree that simply fell in the woods. Coverage varies, so read yours rather than assuming either way.
Keep every receipt, keep your photographs, and get the scope of work in writing. An itemised written estimate is far easier for an adjuster to process than a number on the back of a card. Our storm cleanup estimates are written for exactly that reason.