Emergency Storm Tree Service in Alpharetta, GA

Emergency storm tree service is about order: making the property safe, then making it whole. When a summer thunderstorm, a tropical remnant or an ice storm comes through Alpharetta, the calls are about pines snapped mid-trunk and lying on a roof, oaks uprooted out of soaked clay and resting on a car, and limbs hanging by a strip of bark over the driveway. Each of those needs a different approach, and some should not be touched until the power company has been out.

Recent storms in North Fulton

The area has a long record of tree damage from storms that started far away. When Irma's remnants reached metro Atlanta on September 11, 2017, the National Weather Service recorded sustained winds of 30 to 45 mph and gusts of 50 to 65 mph, with numerous trees falling onto homes and about 1.5 million Georgia customers losing power. In September 2024, Helene toppled trees around Alpharetta, and the city moved into a cleanup phase and pointed residents to its storm page for emergency tree removal and outage reports. Ice is the other threat: the January 2000 storm left about 500,000 metro customers in the dark, some for more than a week.

First, the power lines

If a tree or limb is touching a wire, assume the line is energized. Georgia Power's guidance is to stay away from any downed line and report it, and Sawnee EMC serves part of Alpharetta as well, so call whichever utility is on your bill. We do not cut trees that are in contact with energized lines. Once the utility has cleared or de-energized the line, we remove the rest of the tree. Georgia Power notes that storm debris cleanup on private property is the owner's responsibility, which is where we come in.

Trees on the house

A tree resting on a roof is often holding itself up partly on the structure. Cutting it in the wrong order can make it shift, drop or roll. The usual approach is to secure the tree, remove the limbs above the roof first, and lift or lower trunk sections off rather than dragging them across the shingles. On a heavy trunk across a house, a crane is sometimes the safest way to lift it clear. Once the weight is off, the roof can be tarped.

Permits after a storm

Alpharetta's tree rules have exempted trees that pose an imminent danger and dead trees on single-family detached lots, so a fallen or split tree threatening the house can be dealt with right away. Trees that came through the storm intact but look questionable should be assessed before anyone removes them, since a living tree may still need city review.

Insurance and paperwork

Take photos of the tree and the damage before cleanup if it is safe to do so, and call your insurer early. This Old House notes that homeowners insurance may cover part or all of emergency removal when a covered event like a windstorm drops a tree on a structure. We give you a written, itemized invoice that describes what was removed and why, which helps with the claim.