Tree service in Garfield County, Washington

Storm records for Garfield County

One event outweighs the rest of Garfield County’s record. A wildfire that began on July 15, 2024, cause undetermined, carries a NOAA damage figure of $35 million, and no other report among the county’s 62 since 2016 comes close.

Day to day, snow is the hazard. Heavy snow makes up 35 of the 62 reports, high wind 15 and wildfire 7. February (15), January (12) and December (8) are the peak months, 65 percent of reports land between November and February, and September has none. The county ranks 32nd of 39 in Washington.

Year to year the count has bounced from 0 in 2018 to 12 in 2019. NOAA logged 17 reports in 2023 through 2025 against 24 in 2020 through 2022. With 2,416 residents over 711 square miles, most tree work is planned around snow season and fire season rather than prompted by a storm.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties; Northeast Blue Mountains.

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: Very LowWildfire: Relatively Low

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates Garfield County Very Low overall and Very Low for strong wind, ice storm and winter weather, with wildfire Relatively Low. Those ratings track expected losses to people and buildings, and the county has few of either.

The 2024 fire is a better guide to what matters. Wildfire risk to homes here is above 63 percent of Washington counties, so clearing dead trees, limbing conifers and keeping brush back from structures is worth more than storm pruning. The defensible space guide lays out the zones.

Wildfire risk to homes: higher than 63% 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

Outdoor burning in Garfield County falls under the Washington Department of Ecology’s statewide rules. WAC 173-425-040 bans residential and land-clearing burning in urban growth areas and cities over 10,000, a size no town here approaches; Pomeroy has 1,389 people, though its urban growth area status still matters. Section 050 of the same chapter sets the rest: no prohibited materials, constant attendance and a 50-foot setback.

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

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

Power lines and utilities

Garfield County’s electric utility is not mapped on this site yet, so this page carries no outage number or trimming policy. The utilities page lists the ones mapped so far. If snow has pulled a limb onto a line, stay back and call the utility before any crew.

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

Cities and towns in Garfield County

Pomeroy, the only city in the table, holds 1,389 of the county’s 2,416 residents, and its tree rules have not been researched yet; ask city hall before removing a tree near the street. Everyone else lives outside city limits, where no city permit applies. The county grew 5.69 percent between 2020 and 2025.

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

Washington’s statewide mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners, $32.20 an hour from BLS, stands in for Garfield County because no local figure exists. That is a wage, not a price; the modeled range below builds a crew-hour rate from it.

Census publishes no landscaping-services establishment count for the county, so plan on a crew traveling in and schedule planned work well ahead.

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

Garfield County is mostly USDA hardiness zone 7a, with 7b in the warmest spots, so pick replacement trees rated for 7a. With heavy snow the top storm type, structure matters more than speed: a single strong leader and wide branch angles carry February snow, while multi-stemmed ornamentals split.

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

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

Nearby counties

• Columbia County69 storm reports since 2016
• Asotin County68 storm reports since 2016
• Whitman County99 storm reports since 2016
• Walla Walla County121 storm reports since 2016
• Adams County120 storm reports since 2016

What to do next

Schedule snow pruning for autumn and fire clearance for spring. Have a doubtful tree checked with a risk assessment, ask Pomeroy about permits if you live in town, and look up any company in the Washington license lookup before work starts. For removals, the cost page shows how travel and access shift the modeled range.

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