Tree service in Adams County, Washington

Storm records for Adams County

The trend is the headline. Reports ran at 20 in 2016, 23 in 2019 and 25 in 2020, then fell to one a year in 2024, 2025 and 2026 so far. Three quiet years don’t change the hazard, but they do mean most tree work here lately has been planned rather than storm cleanup.

Across all 120 reports from 2016 through 2026, heavy snow leads with 53, then wildfire at 16, ice storms and high wind at 11 each, winter weather at 10 and strong wind at 9. January and February logged 28 reports each, and 64% of the record falls between November and February.

Wind is the expensive one. On April 4, 2022, a deepening low drove gusts in the upper 40s to near 60 mph across the Columbia Basin, about 15,000 customers lost power, and NOAA attached $5.25 million in damage to the county’s zones.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: Moses Lake Area; Upper Columbia Basin.

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: Very LowWinter weather: Very LowWildfire: Relatively Low

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates Adams County Very Low overall and Very Low for ice and winter weather, Relatively Low for strong wind and Relatively Low for wildfire. Wildfire risk to homes sits at the 55th percentile among Washington counties, right in the middle.

For most properties that means shelterbelt and yard trees are the work: removing dead or wind-damaged trees in a windbreak and keeping dry fuel away from buildings. The defensible space guide covers spacing.

Wildfire risk to homes: higher than 55% of Washington 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

The Washington Department of Ecology’s statewide outdoor-burning rules apply here. Residential and land-clearing burning is banned inside urban growth areas and in cities over 10,000 people (WAC 173-425-040), and anywhere burning is allowed you must avoid prohibited materials, attend the fire and keep a 50-foot setback (WAC 173-425-050). Check with your fire district for burn bans; the Washington burning guide has details.

Full rules, seasons and alternatives: yard debris burning rules in Washington.

Source: Washington Department of Ecology. Checked 2026-10-02.

Power lines and utilities

Adams County’s electric utility isn’t mapped on this site yet, so no outage line or trimming policy is listed here. Call the utility on your bill before any work near a line, and see the utilities page for how line and service-drop clearance is usually split.

Source: utility vegetation-management pages linked above; WAC 296-24-960 (WA L&I). Checked 2026-10-02.

Cities and towns in Adams County

Othello (9,237) and Ritzville (1,767) are the county’s two cities, and neither has been researched for tree rules yet, so ask city hall before removing a street-side tree. The county had 21,488 people in 2025, up 4.26% since 2020, across 1,925 square miles of mostly farm country.

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 estimate covers Adams County, so the statewide figure stands in: BLS puts Washington’s mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners at $32.20 an hour. That is a labor index, not a price; the modeled crew-hour rate below adds burden, equipment and overhead. Census County Business Patterns shows no landscaping-services establishments for the county, so crews will likely travel in from a neighboring county.

Washington statewide: $32.20 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 $210 (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

The county falls in USDA hardiness zones 7a and 6b. Pick replacement trees rated to zone 6 or colder, plant in spring, and water through the first summers, since this is dry country. For windbreaks, choose sturdy, drought-tolerant species and avoid fast, brittle ones that snap under snow.

USDA hardiness zones 6b, 7a (2023 map, by ZIP code).

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (OSU PRISM ZIP data). Checked 2026-10-02.

Nearby counties

• Franklin County52 storm reports since 2016
• Lincoln County310 storm reports since 2016
• Whitman County99 storm reports since 2016
• Grant County151 storm reports since 2016
• Walla Walla County121 storm reports since 2016

What to do next

For snow or wind damage, start with the fallen tree guide and the Washington storm damage and insurance guide. For a planned removal, ask the city about rules if you are in Othello or Ritzville, decide how the wood will be handled, then call. Check any contractor’s registration with the Washington license lookup.

Services: tree removal · trimming · stump grinding · emergency. Check any company: Washington license lookup.

Major storms that reached Adams County

These regional storms produced NOAA Storm Events reports in Adams County since 2016. Each storm page lists the dates, report counts and the other counties hit.

• January 2021 windstorm
• Labor Day 2020 east wind event
• May 30, 2020 thunderstorm outbreak
• January 2017 ice storm