Tree on your house? Tree blocking your driveway? Call (850) 820-2166 — emergency crew is dispatched now.
When a tree’s down on your house at 2 AM, you don’t need a directory. You need a phone that someone picks up. Tallahassee Tree Service Co. runs an actual 24/7 emergency line — not a voicemail, not a callback service. The on-call crew is on the truck within 30 minutes of your call and at your property within 2 hours for most of Leon County.
This page covers what counts as an emergency, what we do in the first 30 minutes on site, what insurance carriers need from us (and from you), what the work typically costs, and how to keep the next emergency from being worse than this one.
What counts as an emergency tree call
Not every fallen tree is an emergency. Insurance carriers, claims adjusters, and our own dispatch all draw the line at the same place. The three categories that meet the bar for after-hours dispatch:
Active life-safety hazard. Tree on a house with people inside. Tree on a vehicle with someone trapped or attempting to extract. Tree leaning toward a building with audible cracking or visible root heave. Hung-up tree directly over a doorway, walkway, or play area where someone could be hurt without further warning.
Active access-blocking hazard. Tree down across a driveway with vehicles trapped behind it. Tree down across a private road. Tree resting on power service drop to the house (we coordinate with the utility on these — never DIY).
Active property-damage hazard. Tree on a roof with active rain entering the house, with or without people inside. Tree on a detached structure. Tree resting on a fence or pool cage with visible deformation that will worsen.
Calls that aren’t after-hours emergencies but still get priority dispatch handling: a tree that came down in your yard but isn’t on anything, a leaning tree you’ve just noticed that doesn’t have visible imminent failure signs, a large branch on the ground.
What we do in the first 30 minutes on site
The first half hour after we arrive sets up everything that comes after — the cleanup, the insurance claim, the safety of your family. Tallahassee arborists in our network runs the same protocol on every emergency call:
1. Scene survey + safety perimeter (5 min). Crew lead walks the entire property looking for secondary hazards — broken power lines, leaning trees the homeowner hasn’t seen, unstable rooflines, ground heaves. Caution tape goes up around any further-risk zone before anything else happens.
2. Photo documentation (5 min). Every angle. Full property, close-up of the damaged structure, root system, trunk-fracture surface, surrounding vegetation. These photos are the only evidence your insurance carrier sees of the original state — they’re worth thousands of dollars to the homeowner. See tree insurance claims for what carriers look for.
3. Tarp + immediate water protection (10 min). If the tree’s punched a hole in the roof and rain is active, we tarp before we cut. Stops further water damage to the interior — which is typically the costliest line item on a tree-on-house claim.
4. Cut plan + crew brief (5 min). Where to cut first, where the wood lands, where the crane needs to stage, what gets craned vs winched. Every emergency cut is reversed (top down, never bottom up) to control where the load goes.
5. Execute (varies). From first cut to wood-out depends on size and complexity. A 60-foot oak through a roof is typically a 6–10 hour job; a single branch on a fence is 30 minutes.
What carriers need — and what we provide
Insurance documentation is part of every emergency invoice we write. The package homeowner carriers (State Farm, Citizens, Tower Hill, USAA, Allstate) consistently want is:
- Date- and time-stamped photographs of the tree on the structure, before cutting begins
- Photographs of the trunk fracture surface showing whether failure was sudden (storm) vs progressive (rot/disease)
- Itemized scope of work with line-by-line pricing for tree removal, debris haul-off, stump grinding (if applicable), and any tarp/board-up labor
- Certificate of insurance from us, demonstrating $2M general liability + workers’ comp
- Written safety assessment of any remaining trees the carrier should consider for proactive removal under the same claim
A homeowner who calls a no-insurance bargain crew and pays cash can absolutely do the work — they just can’t claim the work. Carriers want the documentation, the insurance, and an arborist signature on the assessment.
What emergency tree service costs in Tallahassee
Pricing on emergency work depends on three things: tree size, access, and time of day. Typical ranges as of June 2026:
| Scenario | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Branch on roof, no structural damage, 8 AM–6 PM | $400–$900 |
| Small tree on detached structure (shed, fence, pool cage), daytime | $800–$1,800 |
| Medium tree on house, daytime, single-story | $1,800–$3,800 |
| Large tree on house, two-story, crane required | $4,500–$8,500 |
| Tree on vehicle, daytime | $900–$2,400 |
| After-hours/weekend dispatch surcharge | +$250–$600 |
| Hung-up tree, no structure contact, controlled lower | $1,200–$3,000 |
Insurance covers most legitimate emergency removals where the tree damaged a covered structure. Carriers typically deny coverage when the tree fell in the yard without hitting anything, or when the failure traces to long-standing decay the homeowner should have addressed. For a deeper read see our tree removal cost guide.
What to do right now if there’s a tree on your house
- Get everyone out of the affected room. Even small additional drops can be fatal — limbs and branches don’t always fall when the tree does.
- Cut power to that part of the house at the breaker if the tree is anywhere near the electrical service drop, attic wiring, or HVAC.
- Call us at (850) 820-2166. We’re dispatched while you’re still on the call.
- Take photos from inside and outside — wide shots and close-ups. Time-stamped. The more you have, the smoother the claim.
- Call your insurance carrier’s claims line after you’ve called us. Carriers want the date of loss documented immediately. The claim number can wait until morning, but the open-file timestamp matters.
Why priority dispatch vs scheduled matters even when it’s not life-safety
A leaning tree that’s probably going to fall isn’t an emergency — but waiting two weeks for the next available crew can turn it into one. Tallahassee summers stack rain on rain; saturated clay-zone soil multiplies failure risk every additional day a damaged tree stays up. If you’ve just noticed a tree leaning more than it did last month, get an ISA-certified arborist eye on it within 48 hours.
After the emergency — preventing the next one
Every emergency we respond to ends with a written assessment of any remaining trees the homeowner should consider for proactive removal or maintenance. The most common findings:
- Codominant leaders with included bark. A second failure waiting to happen.
- Root heave on adjacent trees. When one fails, the soil around its neighbors often loosens too.
- Crown imbalance. Trees on the leeward side of the failed one are now exposed to wind they weren’t designed for.
- Deadwood that should have come down two seasons ago. Usually visible only from up in the canopy.
Most homeowners book the pre-hurricane tree inspection the spring after their first emergency. Most don’t have a second emergency.
Emergency tree service FAQ
Are you actually 24/7, or is that a voicemail line? We’re actually 24/7. Calls after hours roll to the on-call crew lead, who picks up live. The truck is rolling within 30 minutes of your call.
How fast can you arrive at my address? Average response time inside Leon County is under 2 hours, 24/7. Faster in central Tallahassee, slightly longer toward Wakulla, Gadsden, and Jefferson Counties.
How much does emergency tree service cost? $400 for a branch-off-roof up to $8,500+ for a large tree through a two-story house with crane work. After-hours dispatch adds $250–$600. We give a written estimate before any cutting starts, so the homeowner can confirm with their carrier first if needed.
Will my homeowner’s insurance pay? Usually yes if a covered structure was damaged. Usually no if the tree fell in the yard without hitting anything. Always yes for the part of the cost that ties to making the property safe. See our tree insurance claim guide for the full breakdown.
Do you handle the insurance paperwork? We supply the documentation — photos, scope of work, certificate of insurance, written safety assessment. You file the claim with your carrier. We’ll talk to your adjuster directly if you authorize it.
What if the tree is on a power line? Call us and the utility (Talquin or City of Tallahassee Utilities) immediately. We don’t cut into power-bearing branches until the utility de-energizes the line. We can stage the equipment and brief the utility crew on arrival to compress the timeline.
