What should I do right now if a tree fell on my house?
- Get people out of the rooms under the tree. A tree resting on a roof can shift, and a cracked ceiling can come down.
- Look for power lines. If a line is down, touching the tree or sparking, stay far away and call PG&E or 911. Treat every downed line as live. Nobody should cut a tree that is in contact with a line until PG&E has made it safe.
- Do not climb on the roof or start cutting. A trunk lying on a house is loaded like a spring. Cutting the wrong piece can drop it further into the house or swing it at you.
- Take photos. Before anything is moved, photograph the tree, the roof and the inside damage for your insurance company.
- Call or text us. Tell us where you are, what the tree is resting on, and whether the power is out. Photos sent by text help us bring the right gear.
Pulling trees off homes after the big storm
A few years ago a heavy storm came through Lake County and left trees on homes all over the area. Robert remembers it this way: “there was like 50 homes with trees on them. And so we just started pulling trees off of homes without the gear. But now we have the gear.”
That storm is a big part of why R2 is built the way it is now. Robert’s idea of the company was always “a center point for the community.” After the Valley Fire, “people were scared and they were afraid and they had PTSD from the fire and … we stepped up.” When a storm hits and someone is looking for help “in that frantic moment,” he wants them to find people who will show up and handle it calmly.
Our own photos from a winter snow storm show what that looks like: a big tree broken over the roof of a house, snow on the ground, and the work of getting it off without making the damage worse.
How we take a tree off a house safely
The first job is to stop things from getting worse. The crew looks at where the weight is: what the trunk rests on, which branches are holding it up, and what will move when each piece is cut.
Then the tree comes off in pieces, from the outside in. Our tracked spider lift can set up in a yard and put a cutter above the tree, so pieces are cut and lowered instead of rolled across the roof. On heavy sections the lift works with a telehandler to hold and lower the wood. Where a machine cannot reach, the crew climbs and rigs.
Once the tree is off, we clear the debris from the roof, the yard and the drive, so you and your roofer can see what needs fixing. Robert has run jobs like this since long before R2 had the equipment it has now, and the crew knows how a broken tree behaves.
Other storm work we do
- Trees across a driveway or road. Cut, moved and cleared so you can get in and out. Tex L. had “2 large black oaks that fell onto our property in Loch Lomond” and wrote, “They were able to finish the job in a day.”
- Hangers and split tops. A broken limb hung up in a tree over the house is dangerous to walk under. We bring it down with the lift.
- Trees leaning after a storm. A tree that tipped and lifted its roots can fall with the next wind. See tree removal.
- Storm cleanup. Downed trees, limbs and debris cleared, chipped or hauled. See log and debris removal.
What moves the price of emergency tree work?
An emergency job is priced like any other: we look at it and tell you before the work starts. What makes a storm job bigger or smaller:
- Where the tree is resting. A trunk on a roof needs slow, controlled cuts. A tree across open ground is quicker.
- Size and how many trees. More wood means more cutting and hauling.
- Power lines and hazards. Any line in the tree has to be handled by PG&E first, which can add time.
- Access and conditions. Snow, mud, a steep lot or a blocked road all slow the work.
- Cleanup and the wood. Hauled, chipped or left as firewood.
If an insurance claim is involved, take your own photos before anything is moved, and ask us any questions when we come out.
Even the storm trees go full circle
A storm tree is still a tree. The good wood from a downed fir or oak can go to our mill, the brush becomes chips, and the scraps become mulch and soil. Nothing goes to waste, even on the worst night of the year.
Who answers when you call
R2 is a local company, and the number rings through to Robert. That also means that sometimes he is up in a tree with a saw running when the phone rings. If he does not pick up, text the same number. Texting works well: you can send photos, your address and what happened, and he sees it the moment he is on the ground. Then he calls you back.
