Emergency Tree Service
Storm damage? Fallen tree? Get emergency response within hours.
$400 – $3,000+
higher for after-hours, weekend, or high-risk removals
2–8 hours
average for residential properties
Post once. Local tree pros are notified the moment your job goes live and bid directly — no per-lead fees.
What Emergency Service includes
- Immediate hazard assessment
- Emergency tree and limb removal
- Roof and structure protection during removal
- Debris clearing for access
- Insurance documentation assistance
When you need it
- Tree fallen on your home, car, or fence
- Large limb hanging dangerously over a structure
- Tree split or leaning after a storm
- Blocked driveway or road
- Power line contact (call utility first)
What to expect
- Mark your job "Urgent" on GivingStump for fastest contractor response
- Emergency and after-hours work costs more than scheduled work — contractors price the callout and the added risk into their bid
- Document damage with photos for your insurance claim
- Many homeowner policies cover emergency tree removal
How GivingStump works
- 1
Post your job
Describe what you need — free, takes 2 minutes
- 2
Get competing bids
Local certified arborists send proposals with pricing
- 3
Hire the best fit
Compare bids, reviews, and credentials — then choose
Why GivingStump
- Verified before you can hire
- Real reviews from real homeowners
- $0 homeowner fees — contractors pay only on wins
What emergency service actually involves
A storm-damaged tree is not the same object as a healthy one. It is holding stored energy — compressed on one side, in tension on the other, sometimes with the whole weight resting on a roof or a wire. Emergency work is priced and sequenced around releasing that energy in a controlled order, which is why the same volume of wood costs more in an emergency than on a scheduled Tuesday.
1.People first, then wires, then the tree
Get everyone out of the affected rooms and away from the tree, including from the side it is leaning away from. Treat every downed or contacted wire as live and call the utility before anyone approaches — a tree touching a conductor can energise the whole tree and the ground around it. No tree crew should be cutting anything until the utility has released the line.
2.Reading what is holding what
Before any cut, the crew works out the load path: which limb is holding the trunk up, which side of the split is in tension, whether a hung-up limb is resting or wedged, and what moves when the first piece comes off. Cutting in the wrong order does not just risk the crew — it is how a tree resting on a roof goes through it.
3.Taking the load off before dismantling
Where a tree is on a structure, crews commonly rig or crane the weight off before cutting so that the load leaves in a chosen direction rather than dropping. Tarping an open roof and protecting what is below is part of the same visit, because rain does more damage over the following days than the tree did in the first minute.
4.Make-safe now, cleanup later
A great deal of emergency work can be split into two jobs: an urgent visit that removes the hazard and secures the site, then a scheduled visit at ordinary rates for the rest of the tree, the stump and the debris. If your urgency is about safety rather than tidiness, ask for the job to be split that way — it is usually cheaper and no less safe.
5.Documenting it for the claim
Photograph everything before anything is moved: the tree in place, the damage, the interior, the wider scene. Keep the crew's invoice and any make-safe receipts. Policies differ on what is covered and on what they want to see, so contact your insurer early and ask what they need — before the site is cleared, if it is safe to wait.
What drives the price of emergency service
Emergency bids reflect three things a scheduled job does not carry: the callout itself, the risk of cutting a loaded tree, and the fact that a crew is dropping other committed work to come. None of that is a surcharge invented for the moment — it is the actual cost of the response.
- The hour and the day
- Night, weekend and holiday callouts cost more than the same work on a weekday morning, and always have. If the hazard can be safely isolated until morning, ask what the difference is.
- Stored energy in the tree
- A split trunk, a bent-over stem, a limb hung up in the canopy or a tree lying across a fence are all under tension. That is skilled, slow, deliberate cutting, and it is the main reason storm work is priced above its wood volume.
- Whether a structure is involved
- Working above a damaged roof means every piece is rigged and lowered, plus tarping and protection. A tree in the garden is a much simpler job than the same tree on the house.
- Access, and whether debris is blocking it
- A crew that has to clear a path before it can bring equipment in is doing two jobs. A blocked driveway or a road-side tree may also need traffic control.
- Crane or climb
- A crane is often the safest way to lift a load off a structure, and it brings its own cost and its own access requirements. Whether one can be set up at your property is decided by the street and the overhead lines, not by preference.
- Regional demand after a storm
- When a storm hits a whole region, every crew nearby is committed at the same moment. That shows up first as availability rather than price — it is the reason to post the job immediately rather than to ring round.
Before you book
- Move everyone out of the affected part of the building and keep clear of the tree on all sides.
- If any wire is involved, call your electricity utility before anything else, and assume the wire is live.
- If you smell gas, or a service line is damaged, leave and call the gas utility from outside.
- Photograph everything before anything is moved — the tree, the damage, the interior, and a wide shot of the scene.
- Note your address details a driver will need at night: gate codes, which side of the property, where a truck can park.
- Have your insurer's claim line and policy number to hand, and ask what they need before the site is cleared.
- Decide what is genuinely urgent — the hazard — versus what can wait for a scheduled visit at a normal rate.
On the day
- Expect the crew to want the driveway and a working area, and to close it off to everyone else.
- A first visit may be a make-safe rather than a full clear: hazard removed, roof tarped, site secured.
- Crews will generally not work at height in high wind or lightning, and will not touch a wire the utility has not released.
- Get the scope written down even in a hurry — what is being removed now, what is being left, and what a follow-up visit would cover.
- Keep every receipt and photograph the site again once the work is done.
Is emergency service the right call?
It is an emergency when
A tree or limb is on a structure or a vehicle, blocking the only way out, hung up above somewhere people walk, split at the trunk, freshly leaning with the soil lifting on the opposite side, or in contact with a wire. Those are all conditions that can get worse without warning.
It is not an emergency when
A dead tree stands well away from anything it could hit, a lean has been there unchanged for years, or the storm left branches on the lawn. Those are real jobs, but booking them as scheduled work rather than as a callout costs less for the same result.
When the utility owns the problem
Anything touching the utility's own conductors is their work, not yours to hire. Call them first; a tree crew cannot legally or safely start until the line is dealt with.
After the emergency
A make-safe leaves a damaged tree, a stump and debris. Once the hazard is gone, the rest is ordinary removal and stump grinding, quoted normally — and an arborist assessment is worth it if other trees on the property took the same storm.
Compare with tree removal and tree trimming.
Emergency Service FAQ
How quickly can I get emergency tree service?
Mark the job "Urgent" when you post it. Every contractor whose service area covers your address is notified the moment the job goes live and can bid immediately. How fast a crew actually arrives depends on who has capacity near you — every bid carries the contractor's own estimated timeline, so you can pick on schedule as well as price.
Does homeowner insurance cover emergency tree removal?
Most policies cover removal of a tree that has damaged a covered structure (home, fence, detached garage). Tree removal without structural damage is typically not covered. Document everything and contact your insurer. Policy wording varies a great deal, so ask your own insurer what they cover and what evidence they want rather than relying on a general answer.
A tree is touching a power line — what do I do?
Call your utility company first — they handle power line contact. Once the line is secured, GivingStump contractors can safely remove the tree. Stay well back in the meantime: a tree in contact with a conductor can energise the ground around it, and there is no safe way for a homeowner to check.
What actually counts as a tree emergency?
Anything where a failure has already happened or is imminent and something valuable is underneath it: a tree or limb on a building or car, a hung-up limb above a path, a split trunk, a fresh lean with the ground heaving, a blocked exit, or wire contact. A dead tree in the middle of a paddock is a job, not an emergency — and pricing it as scheduled work costs less.
Should I call my insurer or a tree service first?
Make people safe first, and call the utility if any wire is involved. After that, photograph everything before it is moved, then open the claim. Most insurers want to see the damage as it was, and many will pay for emergency make-safe work to prevent further damage. Ask your insurer what they need before the site is cleared, if it is safe to wait for that call.
Is a leaning tree an emergency?
It depends entirely on whether the lean is new. A tree that has grown at an angle for decades, with straight vertical growth from the lean, is usually stable. A tree that has moved recently is a different matter — look for soil heaving or cracking on the side opposite the lean, exposed roots lifting, or a fresh gap at the base. New movement plus a target underneath is an emergency.
Will a crew work at night or during the storm?
Many will come out at night for a make-safe, and many will not work at height in high wind or lightning, which is a judgement about survivability rather than reluctance. Expect a first visit to secure the site — hazard removed, roof tarped, access opened — with the full removal and cleanup following in daylight.
Can I split the work into an emergency part and a normal part?
Yes, and it is often the cheaper way to do it. Ask for a make-safe now: remove what is dangerous, secure the structure, clear access. The remaining tree, the stump and the debris can be quoted as ordinary scheduled work afterwards, without the callout premium.
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