If a storm has damaged a tree at your home in Spanish Fork, what you do in the first hour matters. The steps below are in order: safety first, then documentation, then the calls that get the tree handled and the claim started. If anyone is hurt, if you smell gas, or if a tree is touching a power line, call 911 now and stay clear.
1. Get everyone safe
Move people and pets away from the tree, and stay out of rooms directly under a trunk resting on the roof, since loads can shift in continuing wind. Call 911 if anyone is trapped or hurt, if the tree pulled down a power line, or if you smell gas near a lifted root plate, since roots can tear service lines on the way over. Treat every downed line as live, even if it looks dead and even if the power is out. Do not touch a tree that is touching a line, and do not try to cut it. In Spanish Fork, the city’s electric department handles trees interfering with power lines, and tree work waits until the line is cleared.
2. Document the damage before anything is moved
Take photos and video from a safe distance before any cleanup begins. Your insurer will ask for them, and the original position of the tree, the damage to the roof, fence, or driveway, and any broken limbs still hanging in the canopy are all easier to show than to describe later. Look up before you walk the yard: storms leave broken limbs hung in canopies that can drop hours or days later in the next gust.
3. Call your insurer, then a tree crew
Once the scene is safe, call your homeowners insurer to open a claim, then call a tree crew. Tell the crew what the tree hit, whether any lines are involved, and whether the tree is blocking access, so the job can be prioritized honestly. A written estimate should follow an in-person look, spelling out the work, the debris plan, and the price before work starts. See our emergency and storm cleanup page for how storm work is usually handled.
4. What counts as an emergency, and what can wait
A tree is an emergency if it is on a house, garage, or fence, touching a power line, blocking your only way out, or hanging over any of those. A tree lying stable in the yard that hit nothing is a mess, not an emergency, and it can be scheduled normally. That distinction matters for cost: emergency work typically runs roughly 1.5 to 3 times normal rates, and emergency removal off a structure with a crane is reported in the $1,500 to $5,000 range. These are reported market ranges for the area, not a quote. Your final price comes from a free, no-obligation estimate after an in-person look.
5. What insurance usually covers
Homeowners insurance typically covers tree removal when a storm-damaged tree hits an insured structure, with removal payouts typically capped around $500 to $1,000 per tree, after your deductible. A tree that falls in the yard and hits nothing is generally not covered, and removing a dead or leaning tree before it falls is routine maintenance, not a claim. If a neighbor’s tree falls on your property in a storm, your own homeowners policy usually responds, minus your deductible. Policies differ, so check your own before assuming what is covered. See our tree service cost guide for what drives price up or down.
6. Watch out for storm chasers
After a bad storm, door-to-door crews often offer quick cash deals. Do not hire on the spot. Check insurance, ask for proof, and get a clear written estimate first. A legitimate crew will look at the tree in person and put the scope, price, and cleanup in writing before any work starts.
Call us or request a free estimate, and we’ll take a look in person.