Tree service in Clatsop County, Oregon
Wind is the story in Clatsop County: 112 of the 152 storm reports NOAA logged since 2016 are high wind, and 73% of all reports land between November and February. The county ranks 11th of Oregon’s 36 for reports.
Ranks 11 of 36 Oregon counties for wind, ice, snow and storm reports.
73% of reports fall November through February.
FEMA National Risk Index rates strong wind as “Relatively Low” here.
-0.4% since 2020 (Census Vintage 2025).
USDA 2023 zone covering most of the county.
Landscaping-services establishments, Census CBP 2023.
Storm records for Clatsop County
The episode that shows what Clatsop County weather does to trees came on January 8, 2024, when a strong cold front swept the coast and brought snow down to the lowlands while the wind kept blowing: NOAA logged five reports in one episode, two for heavy snow, two for high wind and one for winter weather. Wet snow on a crown that is already being pushed sideways is how a Sitka spruce or shore pine loses its top.
That combination is rare here; plain wind is not. High wind accounts for 112 of the county’s 152 reports from 2016 through 2026, with heavy snow a distant second at 22 and winter storms at 7. The county ranks 11th of Oregon’s 36, and the season is tight: January holds 34 reports, December 27, February 25 and November 25, so 73% of everything NOAA recorded falls in those four months.
Dollar damage is concentrated in one entry, a December 26, 2022 high-wind episode that NOAA tagged with about $3 million in property damage across the county’s zones. Recent years have run a little lighter, 37 reports in 2023 through 2025 against 49 in 2020 through 2022, but 2024 alone logged 20, the same as 2016 and 2021. Plan on one serious blow a winter and book preventive work before the November season starts.
Reports by month, 2016 to 2026
| Event type | Reports |
|---|---|
| High Wind | 112 |
| Heavy Snow | 22 |
| Winter Storm | 7 |
| Hail | 3 |
| Ice Storm | 3 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2 |
| Winter Weather | 2 |
| Strong Wind | 1 |
On January 8, 2024, a strong cold front crossed the Pacific Northwest and pulled in much colder air behind it. Deep onshore flow in that cold air mass set up periods of heavy snow and strong winds over the Cascades and, unusually, snow in the lowlands, including the Coast Range of northwest Oregon and the northern Oregon coast zones that cover Clatsop County. NOAA logged five reports for the episode, two heavy snow, two high wind and one winter weather, with no property damage figure recorded.
NWS forecast zones covering the county: Clatsop County Coast; North Oregon Coast Range; North Oregon Coast Range Lowlands.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2016 to June 2026 · NWS zone-county correlation files (2019 to 2026 versions). Checked 2026-10-02. NOAA Storm Events 2016-2026; zone-based events assigned to every county the NWS zone covers using the zone-county correlation file in force on the event date (2019-04-02 file used for 2016-2018).
Hazard ratings
Strong wind: Relatively LowIce storm: Relatively LowWinter weather: Very LowWildfire: Very Low
FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates Clatsop County Relatively Low for strong wind and Relatively Low for ice storms, Very Low for winter weather and Very Low for wildfire; the overall rating is Relatively High, which comes from hazards other than the four tree-related ones listed here. The Relatively Low wind rating next to 112 high-wind reports is not a contradiction: the index measures expected dollar losses, and a coast with 40,926 people has less in the wind’s path than a metro county does.
Wildfire is close to a non-issue for tree work here. USDA’s Forest Service puts the county’s wildfire risk to homes higher than only 3% of Oregon counties, so the reason to prune or remove a conifer in Clatsop County is wind exposure and root condition, not fuel reduction.
Wildfire risk to homes: higher than 3% of Oregon counties (USDA Forest Service, Wildfire Risk to Communities).
What to do about wildfire exposure: defensible space in Washington and Oregon.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release · USDA Forest Service, Wildfire Risk to Communities (April 2026 download). Checked 2026-10-02.
Burning the debris
Oregon DEQ sets the burning rules in Clatsop County under the statewide open-burning rule, OAR 340-264; the county has no separate DEQ section. The Portland-metro year-round ban does not reach the coast, so the statewide conditions on what you may burn and when apply to a pile of spruce limbs after a removal, subject to any fire-season closure. The Oregon burning guide linked below has the full rule.
Full rules, seasons and alternatives: yard debris burning rules in Oregon.
Source: Oregon DEQ. Checked 2026-10-02.
Power lines and utilities
No utility is mapped for Clatsop County on this site yet, so no outage line or trimming-request process is shown here for Astoria, Seaside or Warrenton addresses. Find the utility name on your bill and start at the utilities index. Whoever serves you, a tree leaning into an energized line after a January blow is line-clearance work under the note below, not a job for a general crew.
| Utility | Outage line | Tree trimming requests |
|---|---|---|
| Clatskanie PUD | (503) 728-2163 | request page |
| Pacific Power (PacifiCorp) | 1-877-508-5088; text OUT to 722797 (source: https://www.pacificpower.net/outages-safety.html) | request page |
| Tillamook PUD | (503) 842-2535 / (800) 422-2535; after-hours (503) 842-2122 | request page |
Source: utility vegetation-management pages linked above; OAR 437-002-0306 (OR-OSHA). Checked 2026-10-02.
Cities and towns in Clatsop County
Clatsop County’s 40,926 people (Census Vintage 2025, down 0.36% since 2020) are split among small coastal towns: Astoria at 9,838, Seaside at 7,115, Warrenton at 6,277, Gearhart at 1,793 and Cannon Beach at 1,489. None of those cities has had its tree-removal rule researched for this site yet, so the table below shows no verdict. Call the city planning office before you remove a tree inside any of them, and read the Oregon tree removal permit guide for the questions to ask.
| Place | Population | Private-tree permit rule |
|---|---|---|
| Astoria | 9,838 | Ask the city |
| Seaside | 7,115 | Ask the city |
| Warrenton | 6,277 | Ask the city |
| Gearhart | 1,793 | Ask the city |
| Cannon Beach | 1,489 | Ask the city |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Vintage 2025 and 2020 Census. Checked 2026-10-02. Permit rules from each city’s code; see the city pages.
Labor index
BLS puts the mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners in Oregon at $35.40 an hour (May 2025), and with no metro estimate for the north coast that statewide figure is the labor index for Clatsop County. It is a wage, not a price; the modeled crew-hour rate below adds burden, equipment and overhead. Census County Business Patterns counted 29 landscaping-services establishments in the county in 2023. After a widespread wind event those 29 are spread thin, which is one more reason to do planned work in the quiet months.
Oregon statewide: $35.40 per hour mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners (BLS, May 2025); no metro estimate is published, so the statewide figure is shown. This is a labor index, not a price; the modeled crew-hour cost used on this site is $225 (method).
29 landscaping-services establishments were counted in Clatsop County in 2023 (Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 561730).
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013 · U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 561730. Checked 2026-10-02.
Climate and growing conditions
The 2023 USDA map puts most of Clatsop County in hardiness zone 8b with 9a along the warmest stretches, so cold is not what kills a replanted tree here; wind and salt are. Choose species that already grow on this coast, Sitka spruce, shore pine, western hemlock and red alder, and give a young tree a stake and a windward screen for its first winters. Keep tall, single-stemmed conifers out of the direct line between the ocean and the house.
USDA hardiness zones 8b, 9a (2023 map, by ZIP code).
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (OSU PRISM ZIP data). Checked 2026-10-02.
Nearby counties
- Columbia County113 storm reports since 2016
- Tillamook County152 storm reports since 2016
- Washington County104 storm reports since 2016
- Yamhill County79 storm reports since 2016
- Multnomah County208 storm reports since 2016
What to do next
If the wind has already done its work, start with the fallen tree guide and photograph everything for your insurer; the Oregon storm damage and insurance guide explains what a policy usually covers. For a standing tree, have a risk assessment done before the November season, ask your city whether a permit applies, then call. Before you pay anyone, check them through the Oregon tree service license lookup.
Services: tree removal · trimming · stump grinding · emergency. Check any company: Oregon license lookup.
Major storms that reached Clatsop County
These regional storms produced NOAA Storm Events reports in Clatsop County since 2016. Each storm page lists the dates, report counts and the other counties hit.
Sources
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2016 to June 2026, checked 2026-10-02.
- NWS zone-county correlation files (2019 to 2026 versions), checked 2026-10-02.
- FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release, checked 2026-10-02.
- USDA Forest Service, Wildfire Risk to Communities (April 2026 download), checked 2026-10-02.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Vintage 2025 and 2020 Census, checked 2026-10-02.
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 561730, checked 2026-10-02.
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (OSU PRISM ZIP data), checked 2026-10-02.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013, checked 2026-10-02.
- Oregon DEQ, checked 2026-10-02.
- Clatskanie PUD vegetation management, checked 2026-10-02.
- Pacific Power (PacifiCorp) vegetation management, checked 2026-10-02.
- Tillamook PUD vegetation management, checked 2026-10-02.
Comparing quotes? Check these eight things first.
Two quotes for the same tree can differ by thousands. The gap is usually in what's included, not the cutting.
We don't vet or license anyone. These are the official lookups; each takes about a minute.
| What | Where | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon CCB license | CCB license search | Active status, bond, insurance on file, complaints |
| Oregon LCB license | LCB verify a license | Landscape contracting license, which covers tree work |
| Washington contractor registration | L&I Verify | Registration, bond, workers' comp, lawsuits, violations |
| ISA Certified Arborist | ISA directory | Current certification and credential number |
How to read them: Oregon guide · Washington guide
Westcoast-Tree.org is an independent information site. If you call a number on this site, the call goes to a tree service that covers your area and we may be paid a referral fee by that company. We don't perform tree work and we don't vet, license or insure anyone. Cost figures are modeled estimates, not quotes (method). Not affiliated with the former Westcoast Tree Care Inc of Tumwater, WA.