With a tree on the house, the first job is to keep the damage from spreading: get the weight off the roof, cover the hole, and open the driveway so a car can leave. The crew comes with the saws, the ropes and, where it is needed, the crane contact to lift a trunk off a structure without doing more harm.
Storm work is quoted by the hour or as a job, with the number given before the first cut and the paperwork written the way an adjuster wants to see it. The crew photographs the scene before starting and again when done.
What an emergency and storm cleanup job involves
- A tree resting on a roof, a car, a fence or a shed
- Broken limbs hung up over a path or a driveway, the kind climbers call widow-makers
- Uprooted trees blocking access
- A crane lift, booked with a local operator, when a trunk on a structure is too heavy to rope
- Photographs and a written record in the form an adjuster asks for
What's included
- The weight off the structure first, and the opening tarped
- Access cleared so you can get a car out
- Ropes, rigging and a climber instead of a straight fell
- Paperwork written the way an adjuster asks for it
- Debris hauled, or cut to length for curbside pickup if you prefer
Not in the price
- The utility side of any downed line
- Roof, fence and vehicle repairs
- Crane hire, arranged with a local operator and quoted up front
Storm damage in Macon-Bibb County
Storm damage in Macon comes in two sizes. Most years it is a squall line in spring or a July thunderstorm on saturated ground, tipping a shallow-rooted pine onto a fence or dropping an oak limb through a carport, and the crew clears it within a day or two. Every so often it is the other kind: Hurricane Helene in September 2024 blocked whole streets in Bibb County with fallen pines and oaks and left power out for days, and the cleanup ran for weeks.
After a wide storm every crew in Middle Georgia is booked. The calls that come in the same morning get the first slots, and trees on houses, cars and lines come before trees in yards. If a tree was already leaning toward the house before the storm, that is the one to have looked at now, because it is the one that will be on the roof next time.
A tree on a structure is never felled; it is rigged and lowered in sections so the roof does not take a second hit. Where the trunk is too heavy to rope, the crew arranges a local crane operator. Anything touching a line waits for Georgia Power to make the line side safe. Photographs are taken before the first cut and after the last, in the form an adjuster expects.
Emergency and Storm Cleanup pricing in Macon
Emergency work is quoted before the crew starts, by the hour or by the job, and written up for the insurance claim. Storm work at night, on a weekend or with a tree on a structure runs 50 to 100 percent over daytime rates, and a removal off a house, a pool or lines runs $2,500 to $6,000 depending on size and what it is resting on.
A crane lift adds the operator's time and is quoted up front. Hauling the debris is in the price unless you would rather have it cut to length for the county's storm pickup and pay only for the lift and the sectioning.
Full price list and what moves the price →
Related: Tree Permits, Storm Cleanup and Debris Rules in Macon, Tree service in Gray, Tree service in Forsyth. Official page: Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning.
Emergency and Storm Cleanup questions, answered
Does homeowner's insurance cover emergency tree removal?
Usually, when the tree has damaged a covered structure: the house, a garage, a fence attached to the house. Removal off the structure and the repair are typically claimable, up to the policy's limit for debris removal. A tree that fell in the yard and hit nothing is usually the owner's cost. Photograph everything before it is cut and keep the written estimate; the crew documents the job the way adjusters ask for.
Why does storm tree work cost more?
Because it is done at night or on a weekend, with the tree resting on something that must not be damaged further, and often with lines down nearby. That means a climber, rigging and sometimes a crane instead of a straight fell, and it means the crew is working a queue of urgent jobs. Expect 50 to 100 percent over a normal daytime removal.
What should I do first when a tree is on the house?
Get everyone out from under it and off the roof. If a line is involved, call Georgia Power and touch nothing. Photograph the tree, the roof and any ceiling damage inside for the claim. Then call the number on this page: the crew comes for trees on structures first and can tarp the opening once the weight is off.