Tree service in Burien, Washington

Tree removal permits in Burien

Burien’s tree code, BMC 19.26, took effect October 12, 2022 under Ordinance 780, and it ties your allowance to lot size. Each 12 months you may remove one significant tree on a lot under 5,000 square feet, two on 5,000 to 10,000, four on 10,001 to 20,000, and five on anything larger. A significant tree is 6 inches or more DSH, measured at 4.5 feet, so most established yard trees qualify. Go over the allowance and you need a Minor Tree Removal Permit; an undeveloped lot needs a Major permit instead.

Emergencies get a retroactive path: a hazard tree can come down first and be permitted afterward, which matters in a county where most damage arrives in winter storms. Keep photos and any arborist notes to support that later filing. No fee schedule or street-tree rule was verified for this page, so call Community Development at 206-241-4647 about a tree in the right-of-way. The Washington permit guide compares Burien with nearby cities.

Every city compared: tree removal permits in Washington.

Source: Community Development (206-241-4647), BMC 19.26 (Ord. 780, eff. 10/12/2022). Checked 2026-10-02.

Storm records for King County (covers Burien)

Winter is the whole story in the King County record. Of 133 NOAA reports since 2016, 84 percent fall from November through February, with February, December and January the peak months, and the leading types are winter ones: Heavy Snow at 68, Winter Weather at 13, Ice Storm at 11 and Winter Storm at 8, beside High Wind at 23. The county ranks 16 of 39 in Washington, and the recent count is lower, 32 reports in 2023 through 2025 against 54 in the three years before.

For a Burien homeowner the season sets the calendar. Planned removals and pruning fit most easily from spring through early fall, before the window when emergency calls stack up and crews are scarce. FEMA’s National Risk Index rates winter weather and ice storm Relatively High for the county and strong wind Very Low.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: Cascades of Snohomish and Northern King Counties; Cascades of Southern King County; City of Seattle; Eastside; Foothills and Valleys of Central King County; Foothills and Valleys of Pierce and Southern King Counties.

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).

Power lines and utilities in Burien

This site maps Seattle City Light for King County, with outage reports at (206) 684-3000 and 911 for a downed line. City Light clears its own distribution and transmission lines, poles, transformers and vaults, and only the first 10 feet of a service line from the distribution connection; the rest of the drop to your house is yours to keep clear. The clearance targets are 10 feet for slow-growing and 14 feet for fast-growing trees at distribution lines, 15 feet of overhang, 3 to 5 feet around service lines, 10 feet at transformers and 3 feet at poles. A Burien address billed by another utility follows that utility’s rules.

Split: city lists both SCL and PSE; majority provider NOT verified

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

Pests and quarantines

Spongy moth (formerly gypsy moth)

King County has confirmed spongy moth, the insect formerly called gypsy moth, but there is no quarantine, so wood and chips from a Burien job are not restricted. Report any sighting through the WA Invasives app, look over furniture, RVs and firewood arriving from infested states, and agree to host a trap if one is offered.

• Spongy moth (formerly gypsy moth): Report sightings (OR Invasive Species Hotline / WA Invasives app); inspect wood, outdoor furniture, RVs before moving from infested states; host a trap if asked

Source: Spongy moth (formerly gypsy moth). Checked 2026-10-02.

Growing conditions in Burien

Burien is in USDA hardiness zone 9a, one of the milder zones in the Puget Sound lowlands, which widens the list of replacement trees a nursery can offer. No NOAA station normals are mapped for the city, so plan by the storm calendar instead: plant in fall so roots grow through the wet season, and keep new trees well clear of the service line so the clearance work never becomes yours.

USDA hardiness zone 9a (2023 map, by ZIP code).

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

Labor index for Burien

Burien’s labor index is the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro figure: BLS reports a mean wage of $33.85 an hour for tree trimmers and pruners, a median of $32.75, and 310 people in the occupation. Treat it as a wage, not a price. The modeled ranges on the service pages are built from crew-hours plus equipment, insurance and disposal, as the methodology explains.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $33.85 per hour mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners (BLS, May 2025). This is a labor index, not a price; the modeled crew-hour cost used on this site is $210 (method).

843 landscaping-services establishments were counted in King 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.

ZIP codes and nearby cities

Burien’s land falls mostly in four ZIP codes: 98166, 98168, 98146 and 98148. The Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate is 51,859 people, close to the 52,066 counted in 2020. SeaTac and Tukwila are 3 miles away, Des Moines 6, Renton 7, Mercer Island 8 and Kent 9, each with its own page and its own tree rules.

ZIP codes with the most land inside Burien: 98166981689814698148

• SeaTac3 miles
• Tukwila3 miles
• Des Moines6 miles
• Renton7 miles
• Mercer Island8 miles
• Kent9 miles

County page: King County.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 ZCTA to place and county relationship files. Checked 2026-10-02.

Tree services in Burien

Burien has a page for each of the four services. Removal is where the lot-size allowance and the Minor permit come in, and the cost guide covers the modeled range; trimming covers City Light’s clearance targets; stump grinding finishes the job; and the emergency page explains the retroactive permit for hazard trees. The arborist page helps when you need a written opinion on a tree.

• Tree removal (statewide guide)
• Tree trimming (statewide guide)
• Stump grinding (statewide guide)
• Emergency tree service (statewide guide)
• Arborists and tree health
• Check a license in Washington

What to do next

Count before you cut. Know your lot size, how many significant trees have come down in the last 12 months, and whether this one would push you over the allowance; if it would, file the Minor Tree Removal Permit first. For a storm-damaged tree, remove the hazard, document it, and file afterward, ideally with a risk assessment on record.

Verify the company through the Washington license lookup, and ask about debris, since burning is regulated by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The King County page has the full storm and hazard record.