Tree work safety in Washington and Oregon

People killed under falling trees in WA and OR

NOAA’s Storm Events Database records where each storm death happened. From January 1996 to June 2026 it lists 737 storm deaths in Washington and Oregon, and 20 of them carry the location “Under Tree”. NOAA counts 18 of those 20 as direct deaths, caused by the storm itself, and 2 as indirect.

Fifteen of the 20 happened between November and March, the windstorm and ice season. Since 2016 there have been 8: 4 in Washington (the Everett area in March 2017 and November 2024, Adams County in May 2020 and the Spokane area in January 2021) and 4 in Oregon (the Portland metro area in April 2017, Multnomah County in November 2021 and 2 in the Portland metro winter storm of January 2024).

NOAA’s narratives for those 8 cases describe people on a hike, in a backyard, in a car, in a tent and in a park. One man in Adams County died during storm cleanup, the case closest to a homeowner with a saw, and the March 2017 narrative notes the tree may have been weakened by gusts earlier that day. The lesson is about timing and distance: a storm-loaded or partly fallen tree stays dangerous after the wind drops, when people go out to look at it or start cutting. Year-by-year counts and the storms behind them are on the Washington storm records and Oregon storm records pages.

What kills tree workers: falls, falling wood, power lines

OSHA’s 2021 inspection guidance for tree care says falls and struck-by hazards are leading causes of death and serious injury for tree care workers, and lists contact with energized lines and cuts alongside them. Its 2014 hazard bulletin on falls and falling objects describes two deaths that show the pattern: a climber who fell about 65 feet when the trunk he was tied into snapped, and a ground worker hit by a falling limb.

The Northwest has its own entries in the federal case files OSHA links to. Washington FACE report 21WA4248 covers an operator who fell from a boom lift while trimming a tree, and 22WA5252 a driver crushed by a woodchip truck that rolled away. Oregon report 22OR001 covers a wildland firefighter killed by a hazard tree. These were working crews with equipment and training, which is the point: the hazards do not go away with experience, they are managed with procedure.

The felling zone: two tree lengths

OSHA’s bulletin tells employers to keep ground workers at least two tree lengths away from a tree being felled. For a 90-foot Douglas fir, that is a 180-foot circle. Few Seattle or Portland lots are that deep, which is why trees near houses come down in pieces, with a climber or lift, ropes and a lowering system, rather than in one cut.

The same bulletin asks crews to mark a drop zone under any climber and to keep a trained worker in contact with a climber working above 12 feet. Those are two-person rules. A homeowner alone on a ladder has neither a cleared drop zone nor anyone watching.

Before you decide a tree is a weekend job, pace off its height from the trunk. If the house, a fence, the neighbor’s car or a service drop sits inside that distance, the tree can reach it, and the job belongs to a crew. The tree removal guide covers what that crew will do; trees too big to piece down from inside the lot are on the crane removal page.

The 10-foot rule near power lines

Federal OSHA guidance keeps workers who are not trained for line work at least 10 feet from overhead lines, with more distance as voltage goes up. Both states write that into their own codes:

• Oregon. OAR 437-002-0306, part of Oregon OSHA’s rules for tree and shrub services (OAR 437-002-0301 to -0311), requires employees who are not qualified line-clearance tree trimmers to stay at least 10 feet from lines energized at 50 kV or less, plus 4 inches for every 10 kV above that. Work inside 10 feet falls under Division 2/RR, the electric power rules.
• Washington. WAC 296-24-960(6) keeps unqualified people, and anything they hold, at least 10 feet from unguarded overhead lines up to 50 kV, plus 0.4 inch for each kV above 50. Trimming inside that zone is line-clearance work under chapter 296-45 WAC, which requires a second trimmer within voice range when a trimmer gets closer than 10 feet to a conductor over 600 volts (WAC 296-45-455).

The 10 feet includes the saw, the pole pruner and the branch you are cutting, and a falling limb can swing into a line you were clear of. Utilities in both states clear their own primary lines; who handles the service drop to your house varies, and the utility directory lists each one’s policy. For a tree that is already touching a line, read tree removal near power lines before calling anyone else.

What to leave to a crew

Small work from the ground, on branches you can reach with both feet on the ground and nowhere near a line, is ordinary yard care. Past that point, these are the situations where the records above say a professional crew belongs:

• Anything off a ladder with a running saw. A cut branch can swing into the ladder or the person on it, and there is no drop zone or second person, the two controls OSHA expects for any climber.
• Any tree that can reach a target. If its height is greater than the distance to the house, garage, a road or a line, it needs to come down in controlled pieces.
• Storm-damaged trees. A tree hung up in another tree, a trunk split under load or a root plate lifting out of wet soil stores energy you cannot see. See fallen tree removal for what a crew does first.
• Leaning or decayed trees. If you are unsure whether a tree is about to fail, a certified arborist’s tree risk assessment answers that before anyone climbs it.
• Stumps near buried lines. Grinding usually goes deeper than the 12-inch homeowner exemption, so call 811 first. Washington requires at least two full business days’ notice under RCW 19.122.030, and Dig Safely Oregon asks for the same.

What pros use, and why it matters

This is not a how-to. It is a list of what OSHA expects a tree crew to bring, so you can see what a safe job looks like when the truck arrives:

• Saws with kickback protection. OSHA’s rule for gasoline chainsaws, 29 CFR 1910.266(e), requires a means to prevent or reduce kickback and bans drop-starting a saw. Kickback, the bar snapping back toward the operator, is why pros keep the tip of the bar out of the cut.
• Protective gear chosen for the hazard. OSHA’s personal protective equipment rules cover head, eye and face, foot and hand protection, and the 2021 guidance points to the noise standard, 29 CFR 1910.95, because saws and chippers are loud enough to bring that standard into play.
• Rated climbing anchors. A climber’s anchor must hold at least 5,000 pounds per person attached, or be set up under a qualified person as part of a complete fall protection system, according to the same guidance. That is why a crew inspects the tree before anyone ties in.
• Line-clearance qualification. Work near energized lines is governed by 29 CFR 1910.269, the same rules the state codes above build on.

If a crew shows up without helmets, eye protection or hearing protection, or proposes to climb a storm-damaged tree without looking it over first, that tells you how the rest of the job will go.

How to check a crew before they start

Who does the work also decides who pays if someone is hurt on your property. Both states require tree businesses to be licensed or registered, and both let you check online in a couple of minutes:

• Oregon. ORS 701.005(5)(e) counts tree removal, pruning, stump removal and limb guying as contractor work, so a tree business needs a Construction Contractors Board license or, under ORS 671.525, a Landscape Contractors Board license. Search both boards; the Oregon tree service license lookup walks through them.
• Washington. RCW 18.27.010 names tree removal services in its definition of a contractor, so the business must be registered with Labor & Industries. L&I’s Verify tool shows registration, bond, workers’ comp status and safety violations; the Washington tree service license lookup shows what each field means.
• Arborist credentials. ISA certification is voluntary and separate from a state license. The ISA directory confirms whether a named person holds it.
• Near lines. Ask directly whether the crew includes a qualified line-clearance tree trimmer. If not, the utility has to deal with the line first.

Ask for a certificate of insurance sent by the insurer, not a photo of one, before any deposit.