Summer Storms: How to Find Nashville Emergency Tree Services
When Nashville winds and storms thrash trees around, branches, limbs, and whole specimens can be knocked down, causing problems that range in severity. In this article, we’ll provide some key resources for Nashville residents seeking reliable emergency tree services.
What Is Considered a Tree Emergency?
When a tree or heavy tree debris falls onto a house, breaks a power line, or causes injuries, call 911. Fallen trees and tree limbs can also create fires by breaking power cables or gas lines. Nashville emergency responders, including paramedics and firefighters, are trained to help in these dangerous situations.
Emergency services should also be contacted if a fallen tree is blocking the roadway or driveway, preventing vehicles from passing.
Other Tree Emergency Service Contacts
The Nashville Electric Service (NES) should be contacted if branch debris lands on power lines without breaking the utility equipment. Don’t try to move it yourself—it’s a safety hazard.
A fallen tree branch on a non-electric utility (such as a cable or phone line) that isn’t creating sparks or sounds should be reported to the utility company immediately and left to the provider to remove.
Non-Emergency Tree Contacts
For non-emergency tree debris cleanup in public spaces like sidewalks and streets (if the blockage is not total), call 311 or visit the Nashville Public Works website to report the need for cleanup.
Trees that fall into the open space of a yard don’t require emergency services if they aren’t creating immediate danger. For private property damage or cleanup, a tree removal service should be called.
Contact a certified arborist to assess damage to trees in your yard, such as broken branches and limbs. With good care, still-standing trees may be able to recover from storm damage.
Homeowners' Insurance and Trees
If a tree falls onto your home, contact your insurance provider after safe conditions are re-established and take photos of the damage to submit with your claim. Home insurance usually covers the cleanup and removal of fallen trees and large debris, as well as associated damage repairs up to your specific policy coverage limit.
If a tree falls onto a car in your driveway, contact your auto insurance provider and take photos of the damage.
Preparing for Storm Season
When it comes to keeping your trees in top condition to withstand wind and thunderstorms throughout the year, keep the following tips in mind:
Prune and Trim Your Trees Regularly: Pruning trees regularly can aid in preventing storm damage by reducing or shifting wind loads, putting less strain on branches and tree bases.
Schedule Arborist Services Early: Winter is the best time to prune a tree, and the busiest seasons for arborists are late spring and early summer. Schedule accordingly for preventative maintenance rather than dealing with damage control!
Identify Weak Trees on Your Property: A tree may be weak from disease, age, or lack of maintenance, all of which can lead to a tree’s limbs more easily breaking off or a tree falling over in a windstorm. These are hazardous trees that need immediate care or removal before nature does the work.
Have an Emergency Plan Ready: In the event of a power outage during a storm, tree-related or otherwise, an emergency plan (including a list of emergency contact phone numbers) can help you keep track of what may need to be done should the power remain out for an extended period of time or if a storm escalates to a dangerous situation.
Another way to help prevent tree-related property or utility damage is to avoid planting canopy trees too close to your home or power lines. Good care from the time of planting will help your tree(s) grow healthy and strong, able to survive storm seasons year after year.
Stand Strong Against Storms
Browse the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps’ tree sale for a range of hardy species that can endure Nashville’s tumultuous seasonal weather. You can also donate a tree for us to plant or sign up to volunteer and lend a helping hand! As a volunteer-based nonprofit, we accept and appreciate financial donations, which are a significant source of support for our canopy care efforts.
If you haven’t already, sign up for our email newsletter to receive updates about NTCC’s activities and usable information about our local trees. Check out our Linktree for even more NTCC content.