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Downed tree, city in storm aftermath, what to do?

  • We've had a giant storm and an incredible number of trees are down including many blocking roads. One downed tree is mine, although thankfully it's not in the street. I was actually in the process of getting an arborist out here to get it taken down next week...and now it's down! Er, mostly down! And that's where I don't know what to do. Two things: first, it's fallen onto the neighbors' property and taken down their phone line. Fortunately, it just missed their house. The neighbors are calling (or probably have called) the phone company about getting the line disentangled. They have not heard anything, apparently, as they were supposed to call me about next steps. Second: The top parts of the tree fell down. The body of the tree is still standing. A thirty-foot section of the tree is propped between a y-fork in the remains of the tree and two branches resting on the ground. It's like a upside-down Y caught in another right-side-up Y, if you get my meaning. It was stable enough to stand through a lot of storm last night after the initial break. So I don't know what to do!!!! I don't think this rises to the level of calling the insurance, at least from a financial angle - the main problems seem to be getting the phone cable out of the branches and getting the tree taken out, and it seems likely to cost about the price of our deductible. I have a message in to an arborist who we were working with. All the local arborists are, obviously, totally slammed and I don't expect to hear back right away. We are working on getting a local yardwork guy in to cut up such pieces of the tree as we can get down. I am a little worried about the vertical piece of the tree falling and hitting something - the house, a car. What are our responsibilities in terms of due diligence? I expect that it will take several days to hear from an arborist. How many should I call? I am also worried about calling, like, twenty and then getting someone unreliable who will charge us a ton and screw it up - normally I would schedule this with someone reliable from Angie's List. Also, does the phone company need to untangle their cable before our guy can do his work? I have left this anonymous in case I am accidentally doing something foolish or wrong. I just can't get ahold of anyone to advise me - the power company and the phone company aren't even really taking calls, things are so chaotic.

  • Answer:

    I'm your neighbor. Call your insurance, call a bunch of arborist a. It will cost about $1500 to $2000 to cut it up and haul it away. My neighbors tree fell across my backyard. My guy came and got rid of it, and my neighbor paid the bill. Also his other tree had pine bark beetle, so it too needed to be removed. Random dudes with chainsaws will be roaming the streets offering to cut up downed trees, don't use them! Your insurance company will talk you through the process. Go on line to make your claim. This will be easier than trying to call someone.

anonymous at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

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Other answers

Surround the dangerous area with caution tape... That's what our town did in the local parks for several weeks following a big storm that took down lots of trees...

NoDef

Where are you located? In some states, you are not liable for damage caused from a fallen tree that originated on your property.

MaryDellamorte

More anecdata: I'm in California and a neighbor's oak fell on and destroyed my car about four years ago. No insurance covered it because it was "an act of nature" - sometimes called "an act of god". Neither the neighbor's insurance nor mine would contemplate a claim.

anadem

This happened to us last year. Our large tall tree splintered in a storm and smashed down across the neighbor's property. IANAL nor am I an insurance specialist, but our insurance agent told me that, in our particular case at least, that while the neighbor was responsible for clearing our tree away from their property, WE were responsible if anyone got hurt by our tree after we noticed its leftover trunk was possibly unstable/had possible branches that could still fall. We needed to get it down ASAP. What we did while waiting for the arborist: 1. Warned the neighbors not to let their kids go near the tree 2. All the other neighbors came over with their saws etc THAT DAY and gathered up all the wood from our tree that was now blocking the neighbors driveway. At least half a dozen people took all they wanted for firewood for the winter. They were being helpful and neighborly and great to help clear/ break up the massive wood, and also I was glad they were getting some free firewood while doing so. 3. Then days later the overworked tree guys came and took away the precarious, remaining trunk. Call them asap and keep calling, because after a storm there is a lot of work to be done. If they say they are too busy get a rec for someone else. By the way, when another neighbor's tree fell into the road, the city was responsible for clearing that. Because mine was not on public property we had to pay the arborist.

third rail

Really the only thing to do is call several tree trimming companies and try to get someone out there as soon as possible. If you have some rope, cordon off your yard so that the neighborhood kids are deterred from climbing. The phone company will handle getting the neighbor's line back up (though they may have to wait until the tree is removed to do the work), it's not something you have to worry about. If the cost of the tree removal does meet the 'worth it to file with insurance' line you can always file for reimbursement after the work is done. Remember that it is ALWAYS worth getting a licensed and insured contractor/service provider- even if it means waiting a little longer.

PorcineWithMe

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