Tree service in Chelan County, Washington

Storm records for Chelan County

Chelan County ranks third of 39 Washington counties for storm reports. NOAA logged 440 wind, snow, ice and wildfire events here between 2016 and 2026, and heavy snow accounts for 302 of them. Wildfire is the second line in the table at 56 reports, well ahead of high wind at 25.

Snow sets the calendar. January alone carries 162 reports and December 99, and 76 percent of everything in the record falls between November and February. August, with 22 reports, is the only summer month with more than a dozen.

The pace has slowed: 74 reports in 2023 through 2025 against 149 in the three years before. That does not make the snow load on a leaning Douglas fir any lighter, and the NOAA record still attaches one death and 12 injuries to these events.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: Central Chelan County; Wenatchee Area; Western Chelan County.

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: Very LowWinter weather: Relatively ModerateWildfire: Relatively High

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025 release) rates wildfire risk in Chelan County as Relatively High, and the Forest Service puts wildfire risk to homes here above every other Washington county. Winter weather rates Relatively Moderate, while strong wind and ice storm both rate Very Low.

For tree work that means two different jobs. In winter the hazard is snow load on long limbs and on trees that already lean, which is where a risk assessment earns its fee. Come summer the hazard is fuel: dead and dying conifers near the house, ladder fuels under the canopy, and anything that would carry fire to the roof.

NOAA’s entry for the Minnow Ridge Wildfire, dated October 1, 2022, carries about $115 million in property damage, the largest figure in the county record; the fire itself started September 9 by undetermined means.

Wildfire risk to homes: higher than 100% 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

Chelan County falls under the Washington Department of Ecology’s statewide outdoor-burning rules rather than a local clean air agency. WAC 173-425-040 bars residential and land-clearing burning inside urban growth areas and in cities over 10,000, which rules out Wenatchee; outside those lines the limits on prohibited materials, attendance and the 50-foot setback in WAC 173-425-050 still apply. Chipping or hauling is the normal end for tree debris in the county.

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

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

Power lines and utilities

Chelan County PUD prunes trees near its overhead lines; see Chelan PUD tree trimming for its cycle, who owns the service line and who to call.

Chelan County PUD maintains the overhead transmission and distribution lines and the trees along them; you are responsible for the secondary line from the pole to your meter. The PUD will disconnect and reconnect that service line at no charge so a crew can prune safely around it, which is worth arranging before any work near the drop. Its outage line is (509) 663-8121 or (888) 663-8121.

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

Cities and towns in Chelan County

Wenatchee holds 35,547 of the county’s 81,941 people, and its code sets no permit for removing an ordinary tree on private land; the city has its own page. Chelan (4,222), Cashmere (3,248), Leavenworth (2,263) and Entiat (1,326) have not been researched for tree rules yet, so ask the city office before cutting anything near a street or right-of-way.

The county grew 3.5 percent between 2020 and 2025, and most of its 2,921 square miles lie outside any city limit.

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 Washington at $32.20 an hour (May 2025); no metro estimate is published for this county, so the statewide figure stands in. That is what a climber earns, not what you pay: a bid covers a crew, a chipper, a truck, insurance and disposal, which is why the modeled ranges on this site run per crew-hour.

The Census counted 68 landscaping-services establishments in Chelan County in 2023, enough firms to compare several bids on a large removal.

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).

68 landscaping-services establishments were counted in Chelan 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

USDA’s 2023 map puts most of Chelan County in hardiness zone 7a, with ZIP codes in 6b and 7b as well. Replant with that spread in mind: stock rated for zone 6b will survive anywhere in the county, while a plant that only tolerates 7b conditions is a gamble in the colder ZIP codes.

On this dry side of the Cascades, ponderosa pine and Douglas fir are the usual large natives, and both carry snow better when they are pruned for structure while young rather than topped later.

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

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

Nearby counties

• Douglas County291 storm reports since 2016
• Kittitas County83 storm reports since 2016
• Snohomish County139 storm reports since 2016
• King County133 storm reports since 2016
• Okanogan County581 storm reports since 2016

What to do next

Start with the tree, not the phone. If it leans, has a dead top, or stands within a fall length of the house or the PUD line, book a risk assessment before deciding on removal. In Wenatchee no city permit stands in the way; elsewhere in the county, ask the city office first.

Then compare bids against the modeled range on the cost page, and before you sign, run the company through the Washington license lookup to confirm its contractor registration is current.

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

Major storms that reached Chelan County

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

• January 2021 windstorm
• May 30, 2020 thunderstorm outbreak
• January 2017 ice storm