Emergency Storm Tree Service in Charleston, SC

Emergency storm tree service in Charleston means more than hurricanes. Summer thunderstorms bring sudden gusts on ground already soaked by the season's rain, and Clemson Extension warns that saturated soil lets even well-rooted trees uproot. A tropical storm passing offshore can do the same thing for a day and a half. When a tree is on your house, across your driveway or hanging in the canopy over a play area, the first job is making it safe, and the second is cleaning it up properly.

First: safety and the power company

If a tree is touching a power line, or a line is down in the yard, stay away and call Dominion Energy or your electric cooperative. Dominion says only qualified line clearance workers may work within 10 feet of lines. Storm debris on private property is the owner's responsibility, so once the line is safe or disconnected, we remove the tree and the wood. If a tree has gone through the roof, keep everyone out of that part of the house.

How a tree comes off a house

A tree resting on a roof is loaded in ways you cannot see. Cutting the wrong piece first can let the trunk drop or roll further into the structure. We work from the top down, removing the crown and branches, then lifting or lowering trunk sections so they come off without further damage. On large oaks, or where there is no safe way to climb, a crane is sometimes the safest way to pick heavy pieces clear of the house. Once it is off, the roof can be tarped and your roofer can see what needs repair.

Split oaks and hanging limbs

After a storm, the trees still standing can be more dangerous than the ones on the ground. A laurel oak with a crack running down from a fork, or a broken limb hung up in the canopy (a hanger), can fall days later. We look at every tree near the house after a storm call and tell you which ones need work now and which can wait for a regular visit.

Insurance and records

Take photos before anything is moved: the tree, where it landed and the damage. Many homeowners' policies treat a tree that hits a covered structure differently from one that falls in the open yard, so call your insurer early. We give you a written, itemized invoice that shows what was removed and from where.

After Hugo, and after every storm since

Hugo knocked down a large share of the area's trees in 1989; Francis Marion National Forest alone lost about 75 percent of its marketable timber. The pattern since has been the same in smaller storms: the trees that fail are often the ones that were already hollow, leaning or crowded. The best emergency call is the one that never has to be made, which is why we also offer hurricane prep pruning before the season.