Tree Care Apps & Tools

Storm Triage

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Tree Care Apps & Tools Storm Triage
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Tree Care Tool

Storm Damage Triage Assistant

A storm just took a tree down. Answer a few questions for an ordered action list — and a plain warning when this is a 911 or utility call, not ours.

3 screens, about a minute Nothing you type leaves this page How it works

Rates and bands last reviewed October 2026 · coastal San Luis Obispo County market rates

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Tick the box above to begin — 6 screens, about a minute, one question at a time.

Step 1 of 6

Is anyone trapped, injured or in the building

How to answer this

These four answers come before any question about the tree. If a line is down, if someone is trapped, or if there is a smell of gas, a tree service is the wrong first call and this tells you so.

Is anyone trapped, injured or in the building?

Before you answer
  • A tree in contact with a conductor can be energised. Stay at least a bus length away and keep everybody else back.
  • A smell of gas or a broken water line comes before the tree: leave the area first, then call 911 and the utility.
  • Never cut a limb that is touching or over a power line, and never walk a roof to reach a branch.
  • If you cannot currently stay well clear, leave the property and call from somewhere safe rather than watching.

Step 2 of 6

Is a power line down, sparking, or touching the tree

How to answer this

These four answers come before any question about the tree. If a line is down, if someone is trapped, or if there is a smell of gas, a tree service is the wrong first call and this tells you so.

Is a power line down, sparking, or touching the tree?

Step 3 of 6

Can you smell gas, or has a water line broken

How to answer this

These four answers come before any question about the tree. If a line is down, if someone is trapped, or if there is a smell of gas, a tree service is the wrong first call and this tells you so.

Can you smell gas, or has a water line broken?

Step 4 of 6

Can you stay well clear — as far as a bus length — while you wait

How to answer this

These four answers come before any question about the tree. If a line is down, if someone is trapped, or if there is a smell of gas, a tree service is the wrong first call and this tells you so.

Can you stay well clear — as far as a bus length — while you wait?

Step 5 of 6

What has happened

How to answer this

Now the tree itself. Triage is a question of order rather than of size: what is over a person, what is over property, and what is simply in the way.

What has happened?

Before you answer
  • A tree on a house, a vehicle or an access route is our 24/7 priority tier, and it goes ahead of the scheduled work.
  • A trunk split, cracked or uprooted is not a pruning job, and it can move further while you watch it.
  • A broken or hanging limb above head height should be assumed to be able to fall — keep people, vehicles and pets from parking under it.
  • Photograph it from a safe distance for your insurer before anything is moved.

Step 6 of 6

Is the structure occupied right now

How to answer this

If the tree is resting on a structure, whether anyone is inside changes the first call and how carefully the site is approached.

Is the structure occupied right now?

Before you answer
  • An occupied building with a tree still moving on it, or a roof that has deflected, means evacuate first and call 911.
  • Do not enter a structure with a tree on the roof: the roof may already be compromised and the tree can keep settling.
  • Leave the utilities to the utility — a damaged service drop is their call even when a tree caused it.

Your answer

What to do first

How to read this

An ordered list, in the order the crews work a storm at three in the morning — safety first, the hazard second, the tidying last.

Go deeper

Your insurer, in the right order — and what never to do

Your insurer, in the right order

A storm claim is decided largely by what was documented in the first day. The order matters, and the sequence below is the one adjusters expect.

Make it safe first
Emergency work to remove a hazard is usually recoverable where the property is insured, and no policy expects a family to live under a leaning tree while a claim is opened.
Move nothing you do not have to
Anything moved before it was photographed becomes contentious. Only what is dangerous, or what is blocking an essential route, should move before the camera comes out.
Photograph and video the whole scene
From a safe distance, and from the street, before and after the emergency work — including the neighbouring properties if their tree is involved. Wide shots first, then close-ups.
Keep the receipts and the log
Emergency tree work, temporary repairs, a hotel, meals while you are out of the house: keep every receipt, and write down who you spoke to, when, and the claim number they gave you.

What not to do

Every item here has hurt somebody. They are the reason this tool puts safety ahead of the sale, and the reason it will tell a visitor to hang up on us and call 911.

Never cut a limb under tension
A limb holding a leaning trunk, a branch pinned under another, or anything bent out of shape stores energy and releases it when cut. Trapped bars, broken arms and worse come from exactly this.
Never work overhead from a ladder
A chainsaw above your shoulders on a ladder is the single most common serious injury in tree work. There is no version of this that is a good idea.
Never walk a roof to reach a branch
A struck roof can be compromised, wet, and moving. Add a dropped limb and it is the worst place on the property to be standing.
Never run a saw one-handed near a bind
One-handed chainsaw use near a pinched bar is how a kickback reaches an arm. Two hands, a clear stance and no one else in the drop zone.
Never assume it has finished moving
A leaning tree can sit for a week and then go. If a tree is resting on something, or its base has lifted, the ground under it and everything it could reach stays clear until somebody qualified has been.
What moved this
  • The first item is always the one that stops someone being hurt rather than the one that is most visible from the window.
  • Our emergency line answers 24/7, and hazards to people, homes, vehicles and access routes come first.
  • What can wait until daylight is listed too, so you are not paying an emergency rate for tidying up.

About Storm Triage

Storm calls are decided in seconds, and the order of the answers matters more than the tree. If a line is down, if someone is trapped, or if there is a smell of gas, a tree service is the wrong first call and this tool says so in plain words before it says anything else.

Once it is safe, the tree problem is a triage problem: which hazard is over a person, which is over property, and which is simply in the way. That is the order this assistant works in, and it is the order the crews work in at three in the morning.

It also tells you what not to do — never cut a limb that is touching or over a conductor, never walk a roof to reach a branch, never park under a leaning tree while you decide.

What should I do if a tree falls on a power line?

Stay away — at least a bus length — and call 911, then the utility. A tree in contact with a conductor can be energised, and a limb that looks clear may not be. Never cut it and never let anyone under it.

Do you do 24/7 emergency tree work in Cambria?

Yes. We prioritise hazards to people, homes, vehicles and access routes, servicing by road and driveway access and handling any required utility coordination.

A tree is across my driveway. Can I cut it up myself?

If the tree is fully on the ground, clear of any wire and under no tension, cutting it into sections is a judgement call for a competent operator. If any part of it is still bound or leaning, or a wire is anywhere near it, leave it.

Can a storm-damaged tree be saved?

Often yes, if the trunk and root plate are intact — clean pruning cuts and time will tell. A tree that has split below the crown, or whose base has lifted, usually cannot be made safe again.

At night, how do I know if a line is down?

Assume it is until the utility says otherwise, and look for the glow or the arcing rather than getting close to check. A tree in contact with a conductor can be energised, and a limb that looks clear may not be. Stay at least a bus length back and call 911 before you call anyone else.

Will my insurer want anything from you?

Usually the removal record: the date, what came off, and photographs of the tree and the damage before anything was moved. Photograph from a safe distance first, and we will put the work in writing afterwards. Keep both together with your policy number rather than in two drawers.