Emergency Storm Tree Service in Madison, WI

Emergency storm tree service starts before anyone picks up a saw. When a tree or a big limb comes down on your house, your car or your driveway, the first questions are whether anyone is hurt, whether wires are involved and whether the structure is still safe to be in. In Madison, the storms that cause this kind of damage usually come in summer: lines of thunderstorms with straight-line winds that break limbs and uproot trees with weak roots, often across many neighborhoods at once. Winter snow and the occasional ice coating cause a different kind of breakage, mostly at weak forks and on long limbs.

The first few minutes

Stay out from under anything hanging. Treat every downed wire as live, keep people and pets away, and call MGE right away; the city lists 608-252-1111 for MG&E power lines, and MGE handles downed lines around the clock. If a public tree is blocking the whole road or has fallen onto a house, Madison's guidance is to call 911 or Dane County Dispatch at 608-255-2345 rather than sending an email. For a private tree on your house, call your insurer and then call us at (608) 820-8710; you can leave details at any hour, and we sort calls by danger.

How we sort storm work

After a widespread storm, calls come in faster than any crew can get to them. We go in order of risk: a tree resting on a roof or through a ceiling, a tree blocking the only way out of a house, limbs hanging over a door, sidewalk or driveway, then trees that are down in the yard but not touching anything. A tree leaning on a house is often holding tension in its trunk and limbs, and cutting the wrong piece first can drop it further onto the roof. These jobs are done slowly, with ropes and sometimes a crane, which can be the safest way to lift a heavy trunk off a structure without more damage.

Photos and insurance

Before any cleanup, take photos of the tree, where it landed and the damage from several angles. Your homeowner's policy may cover removal of a tree that falls on a covered structure; the details vary by policy, so ask your insurer. Our written quote lists the work on the tree separately from the cleanup of the yard so the adjuster can see what each part costs.

Oaks damaged in season

A split or hanging oak limb in July still falls under Madison's rule requiring a permit for any oak work between April 1 and October 15. The city says these permits are issued on an emergency basis, so a call to Urban Forestry at 608-266-4816 comes early in the process. Fresh breaks on oaks attract the beetles that carry oak wilt, so clean pruning cuts and sealing them soon after the work matters more than usual.

Brush after a big storm

After large storms, Madison's Streets Division sometimes runs extra brush pickups, as it did after the wind storm of December 15, 2021. The usual rules still apply: pieces between 18 inches and 8 feet long, no thicker than 8 inches, cut ends facing one way, and piles at least four feet from terrace trees, signs, poles and hydrants. Trunks and large limbs need another plan; we can cut, chip and haul whatever the city will not take.