Tree service in Clark County, Washington

Storm records for Clark County

Storm reports in Clark County are going up, not down. NOAA logged 39 in 2023 through 2025 against 30 in 2020 through 2022, a 30 percent rise, and 2024 alone produced 20, the busiest year since 2017. The full record runs to 118 reports since 2016, which ranks the county 21st of 39 in Washington.

Heavy snow leads at 45 reports, but the next three lines matter more for trees: winter storm at 22, and high wind and ice storm at 11 each. Ice is the one that breaks limbs here, because glaze loads a bigleaf maple’s spreading branches far faster than snow does.

Timing is tight. January (31), February (27) and December (27) hold 76 percent of the record, and nothing at all was logged in May, July or August. Nine county-based reports, four tornadoes and five thunderstorm winds, make up the rest.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: East Clark County Lowlands; Inner Vancouver Metro; North Clark County Lowlands; South Washington Cascade Foothills; South Washington Cascades.

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 ModerateIce storm: Relatively HighWinter weather: Relatively ModerateWildfire: Relatively Low

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025 release) rates ice storm risk in Clark County as Relatively High, with strong wind and winter weather both Relatively Moderate and wildfire Relatively Low; the Forest Service puts wildfire risk to homes here above 32 percent of Washington counties.

That ice rating is the one to plan around. Freezing rain loads every limb at once, and the trees that fail are the ones with included bark, long horizontal leaders or decay at a union, all of which a risk assessment can find in an afternoon.

Wind is the second concern. The costliest episode in the county record, the easterly windstorm of September 7, 2020, carries about $100 million in property damage because it fanned wildfires already burning as it poured off the Cascades through dry fuel and very low humidity.

Wildfire risk to homes: higher than 32% 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

Burn rules for Clark County come from the Southwest Clean Air Agency. Inside urban growth areas and designated No Burn Areas residential yard-debris burning is permanently banned, which takes in every city in the county and the growth land around it. Outside those lines you can self-issue a permit for a single pile under 10 by 10 by 6 feet; slash and land-clearing burns need a site-specific permit under SWCAA 425.

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

Source: Southwest Clean Air Agency. Checked 2026-10-02.

Pests and quarantines

Emerald ash borer (EAB)

Emerald ash borer is confirmed in Clark County, the only pest flag on this page, and no quarantine is in force on the Washington side. If you have an ash with a thinning crown, woodpecker damage or D-shaped exit holes, get it looked at now: ash killed by the borer dries out and turns brittle fast, which converts a routine removal into a dead-tree job with a crane and a higher bid.

Wood is the other issue. Across the river, Oregon’s quarantine keeps raw ash wood inside the quarantine zone; it may move only as chips of 1 inch or less or as kiln-dried, debarked lumber, loads must be covered during the April 1 to September 30 flight period, and sightings go to the Oregon Invasive Species Online Hotline. Keep ash from a Clark County removal in the county and chip it. Details: emerald ash borer in Washington.

• Emerald ash borer (EAB): OR (ODF/ODA): keep raw ash wood inside the quarantine; move only as <=1-in chips or kiln-dried debarked lumber, or heat 160F core for 60 min with ODA permission; cover loads during flight period Apr 1

Source: Emerald ash borer (EAB). Checked 2026-10-02.

Power lines and utilities

Clark Public Utilities clears trees within 10 feet of its overhead lines, and it will disconnect the secondary service line for free so you or your contractor can trim near the drop; ask for that before the crew arrives rather than on the day. Its outage line is 360-992-3000. Anything touching a primary line is the utility’s job, not yours.

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

Cities and towns in Clark County

Vancouver, with 199,698 people, requires a permit to remove a tree and has a full set of pages covering removal, trimming, stumps and storm work. Camas (27,749) requires one in some situations and Battle Ground (23,513) does not; see the Camas and Battle Ground pages. Ridgefield (16,132), La Center (3,424) and Yacolt (1,668) have not been researched yet.

The county is small and crowded: 532,119 people in 629 square miles, up 5.72 percent since 2020, so most removals happen on tight lots near neighbors, fences and lines.

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 the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro at $35.04 an hour (May 2025), a metro figure rather than the statewide one. It is a wage, not a price: the modeled ranges on this site are built per crew-hour and absorb the truck, chipper, insurance and disposal on top of labor.

The Census counted 194 landscaping-services establishments in Clark County in 2023, so there is no reason to accept a single bid on a large removal.

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: $35.04 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).

194 landscaping-services establishments were counted in Clark 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

Every ZIP code in Clark County sits in USDA hardiness zone 8b on the 2023 map, so cold is not what limits replanting here. Wet winters and dry summers are, and the ice rating above argues for species with strong branch structure over fast-growing, weak-wooded ones.

Douglas fir, western redcedar and bigleaf maple are the common large trees in lowland yards; if you are replacing an ash lost to the borer, pick something outside the ash family so the replacement is not the next host.

USDA hardiness zone 8b (2023 map, by ZIP code).

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

Nearby counties

• Cowlitz County154 storm reports since 2016
• Skamania County162 storm reports since 2016
• Lewis County78 storm reports since 2016
• Wahkiakum County125 storm reports since 2016
• Thurston County21 storm reports since 2016

What to do next

If a tree worries you, have it assessed before the first ice storm rather than after. Then check the permit: Vancouver requires one, Camas sometimes, Battle Ground never for ordinary private trees, and the statewide picture is on the Washington permits guide. Compare bids against the modeled range on the cost page, and run the company through the Washington license lookup before you sign.

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

Major storms that reached Clark County

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

• January 2024 ice storm
• December 2022 ice storm and windstorm
• October 2021 windstorm
• February 2021 ice storm
• January 2021 windstorm