Tree service in Morrow County, Oregon
Morrow County’s tree trouble comes in winter: NOAA logged 82 storm reports here since 2016, and 82% of them landed between November and February. Heavy snow accounts for 53 of the 82.
Ranks 27 of 36 Oregon counties for wind, ice, snow and storm reports.
82% of reports fall November through February.
FEMA National Risk Index rates ice storm as “Relatively Moderate” here.
+3.4% since 2020 (Census Vintage 2025).
USDA 2023 zone covering most of the county.
Storm records for Morrow County
February is the month to watch. NOAA’s storm record for Morrow County shows 26 reports in February, 18 in January and 16 in December, and the four months from November through February hold 82% of the county’s 82 reports since 2016. Summer is close to silent: July has none, June one.
Snow drives the count. Heavy snow makes up 53 reports and high wind 17, with four wildfire entries, two ice storms and a handful of wind and winter-weather reports filling out the table. That total puts the county 27th of Oregon’s 36, so most tree work here is planned rather than storm-driven, and it has been getting quieter: 12 reports in 2023 through 2025 against 30 in 2020 through 2022, a drop of 60%.
For a homeowner, the practical risk is weight, not wind. A wet snow load on a cottonwood, poplar windbreak or an overextended shade tree breaks limbs before it uproots anything, and that is the kind of damage a thinning cut in fall can head off.
Reports by month, 2016 to 2026
| Event type | Reports |
|---|---|
| Heavy Snow | 53 |
| High Wind | 17 |
| Wildfire | 4 |
| Strong Wind | 2 |
| Ice Storm | 2 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2 |
| Winter Weather | 1 |
| Winter Storm | 1 |
The largest single episode in the county’s record came on December 14, 2016. A strong Pacific storm rode in over a layer of modified Arctic air and turned to snow across a wide area, and NOAA filed four heavy-snow reports covering the Blue Mountain foothills, the John Day Basin, the Lower Columbia Basin and the Southern Blue Mountains, the zones that take in Morrow County. No damage figure was attached.
NWS forecast zones covering the county: Foothills of the Southern Blue Mountains of Oregon; John Day Basin; Lower Columbia Basin of Oregon; Southern Blue Mountains of Oregon.
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: Very LowIce storm: Relatively ModerateWinter weather: Relatively LowWildfire: Relatively Moderate
FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates Morrow County Very Low overall and Very Low for strong wind, Relatively Low for winter weather, and Relatively Moderate for both ice storms and wildfire. The ice score of 78.3 is the number to notice: ice adds weight to every branch at once, and brittle trees fail under it.
On wildfire, USDA’s Forest Service puts the risk to homes here higher than 49% of Oregon counties, close to the state middle. With four wildfire reports in the NOAA record, keeping defensible space around the house is still part of routine tree care on dry-side lots.
Wildfire risk to homes: higher than 49% 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 for Morrow County under the statewide OAR 340-264, with no county-specific chapter for Morrow. Check fire-season restrictions with your local fire district before lighting a debris pile, and see the Oregon burning guide for the statewide conditions.
Full rules, seasons and alternatives: yard debris burning rules in Oregon.
Source: Oregon DEQ. Checked 2026-10-02.
Power lines and utilities
No electric utility is mapped for Morrow County on this site yet, so the outage number and line-clearance rules for your address are not listed here. Find the utility name on your bill and start from the utilities index. A limb resting on a service line in a February snow is the utility’s call before it is a tree crew’s.
| Utility | Outage line | Tree trimming requests |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific Power (PacifiCorp) | 1-877-508-5088; text OUT to 722797 (source: https://www.pacificpower.net/outages-safety.html) | request page |
| Umatilla Electric Co-op | (888) 465-5701 | request page |
Source: utility vegetation-management pages linked above; OAR 437-002-0306 (OR-OSHA). Checked 2026-10-02.
Cities and towns in Morrow County
Morrow County’s 12,602 residents (Census, 2025 estimate, up 3.43% since 2020) are spread over 2,031 square miles. Boardman is the largest town at 3,828, followed by Irrigon at 2,011 and Heppner at 1,187.
None of the three has been researched for a tree-removal permit on this site yet. Before you take down a street-side tree in town, call city hall and ask whether a permit or right-of-way approval applies; see the Oregon permit guide for how cities usually handle it.
| Place | Population | Private-tree permit rule |
|---|---|---|
| Boardman | 3,828 | Ask the city |
| Irrigon | 2,011 | Ask the city |
| Heppner | 1,187 | 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
No metro wage series covers Morrow County, so this page falls back to BLS’s Oregon statewide mean for tree trimmers and pruners: $35.40 an hour. That is what a worker earns, not what a job costs; the modeled crew rate below adds payroll burden, equipment and travel. Census business counts for local landscaping firms are not published for the county, so ask any crew how travel time is billed.
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).
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
Most of Morrow County sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a, with pockets of 7b. When replanting after a removal, pick species that tolerate both cold snaps and dry summers, and favor strong branch structure over fast growth given the snow and ice record above. Water a new tree through its first two summers; the county’s dry side is unforgiving to young roots.
USDA hardiness zones 7a, 7b (2023 map, by ZIP code).
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (OSU PRISM ZIP data). Checked 2026-10-02.
Nearby counties
- Gilliam County82 storm reports since 2016
- Umatilla County186 storm reports since 2016
- Wheeler County94 storm reports since 2016
- Sherman County75 storm reports since 2016
- Grant County81 storm reports since 2016
What to do next
Start by checking whether the tree is in town limits, since Boardman, Irrigon and Heppner rules are not yet on file here. Have a damaged or leaning tree looked at through a risk assessment before deciding between trimming and removal.
Then call, and confirm the company’s CCB license through the Oregon tree service license lookup before anyone climbs.
Services: tree removal · trimming · stump grinding · emergency. Check any company: Oregon license lookup.
Major storms that reached Morrow County
These regional storms produced NOAA Storm Events reports in Morrow 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.
- Pacific Power (PacifiCorp) vegetation management, checked 2026-10-02.
- Umatilla Electric Co-op 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.