Emergency Storm Tree Service in Columbus, GA

Emergency storm tree service is about doing things in the right order. After a summer thunderstorm or the remnants of a Gulf system push through Columbus, the first job is to keep people away from danger, the second is to stop more damage to the house, and only then does the cleanup start. A tree resting on a roof, a pine snapped halfway up and hung in the oak next to it, or a limb lying across the service line all call for different handling, and none of them is a good place to start with a homeowner's chainsaw.

The first hour

Stay out from under anything hanging. If a tree or limb is touching a power line, or a line is down in the yard, stay far away and call the utility; don't try to move branches off it. If a tree has come through the roof, get everyone out of that part of the house. Take photos from several angles before anything is moved, since your insurer will want them. Then call us at (762) 240-3944 with what you see. You can call any time to leave details.

How storm work is done

A tree lying on a roof is under tension and compression in ways that aren't obvious, and cutting the wrong piece first can drop it further into the house or make it roll. We work from the top down, rigging pieces with ropes and taking weight off in small sections. Where the tree is too heavy or the roof too fragile for that, a crane may be the safest way to lift it off. Once the weight is off, the structure can be tarped or covered so rain doesn't follow. Split trunks and hung-up limbs, the ones arborists call widowmakers, are taken down before anyone works underneath.

Wet ground and shallow roots

Columbus averages close to 49 inches of rain a year, with the wettest months in March and August. Saturated soil is a common thread in storm failures: roots lose their grip, and a tree that would have shrugged off the wind on dry ground tips over with its root plate. The Georgia Forestry Commission also notes that pine bark beetles attack trees weakened by saturated soils and storm damage, so a pine that survived the storm but lost limbs or had its roots loosened is worth watching for the next few months.

Debris and disposal

The city sometimes runs storm debris collection in affected areas, and its public works pages post a storm damage collection map when it does. Outside of those efforts, curbside pickup takes limbs only up to four feet long and six inches thick, and contractors must haul their own waste. Storm work we do includes hauling. If you plan to burn storm debris yourself, the Georgia Forestry Commission requires notification or a permit for vegetative storm debris burns.