Tree service in Okanogan County, Washington

Storm records for Okanogan County

Only one Washington county logged more storm reports than Okanogan. NOAA recorded 581 here from 2016 through 2026, second of 39, across 5,266 square miles of valley, highland and Cascade east slope. Heavy snow accounts for 419 of them and wildfire for 77; winter weather (21), thunderstorm wind (18), winter storms (14), high wind (13), strong wind (10), ice storms (5) and hail (4) fill out the record.

January is the peak by a wide margin with 198 reports, then December with 102 and February with 76; 72% fall between November and February. Summer is not quiet either: August and September together logged 61 reports.

The pace has slowed. Reports fell from 187 in 2020 through 2022 to 66 in 2023 through 2025, a 65% drop, after highs of 106 in 2018 and 111 in 2020. NOAA tied 2 deaths and 5 injuries to the county’s reports over the period.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: Okanogan Highlands; Okanogan Valley; Upper Columbia Basin; Western Okanogan 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: Relatively LowIce storm: Very LowWinter weather: Relatively ModerateWildfire: Relatively High

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates Okanogan County Relatively High for wildfire (99.3) and Relatively Moderate for winter weather (71.3), with strong wind Relatively Low and ice storm Very Low; the overall rating is Relatively Moderate. The Forest Service puts wildfire risk to homes here above 90% of Washington counties.

So tree work has a fire job and a snow job. Fire work means removing dead conifers near buildings, limbing up and thinning under the defensible space approach. Snow work means pruning long limbs over roofs and drives before January.

Wildfire risk to homes: higher than 90% 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

Okanogan County has no local clean air agency, so the Washington Department of Ecology’s statewide outdoor-burning rules govern. WAC 173-425-040 prohibits residential and land-clearing burning inside urban growth areas and cities over 10,000; no city here reaches that size, but urban growth areas around towns such as Omak can still apply. WAC 173-425-050 adds the prohibited-materials list, the attendance rule and the 50-foot setback. With 77 wildfire reports on file, also check for seasonal burn bans before you light anything.

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

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

Power lines and utilities

No utility is mapped for Okanogan County on this site yet, so its outage line and clearance rules are not shown. Find your utility on your bill and check the utilities index. Trees growing toward lines matter twice here, as a winter outage risk in a county with 419 heavy-snow reports and as a summer ignition source; ask the utility about clearance before fire season and leave anything touching a line to its crews.

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

Cities and towns in Okanogan County

Okanogan County’s 45,230 people (Census 2025 estimate, up 7.44% since 2020) are spread over 5,266 square miles, and its six listed cities are all small: Omak (4,860), Okanogan (2,379), Brewster (1,983), Oroville (1,795), Coulee Dam (1,211) and Tonasket (1,103). None has been researched for tree rules on this site yet.

Together those cities hold about 13,300 people, so most of the county lives outside city limits, where county rules apply. Ask the city or county planning office before a large removal.

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 Washington’s mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners at $32.20 an hour (May 2025); no Okanogan estimate is published, so the statewide number is used. That is pay, not the price of a job. Census County Business Patterns counted 24 landscaping-services establishments in the county in 2023, few for 5,266 square miles, so expect travel time in bids and book well ahead of fire season.

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).

24 landscaping-services establishments were counted in Okanogan 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

Okanogan County spans four hardiness zones on the 2023 USDA map, 6a through 7b, with 6b the most common. Check your ZIP before buying: stock that suits a low valley site may not survive the highlands. Replant with spacing and snow in mind; ponderosa pine is the native large tree on the dry slopes, and keeping new plantings clear of the house fits the defensible-space approach.

USDA hardiness zones 6a, 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

• Ferry County158 storm reports since 2016
• Douglas County291 storm reports since 2016
• Chelan County440 storm reports since 2016
• Stevens County357 storm reports since 2016
• Lincoln County310 storm reports since 2016

What to do next

Sort the tree by threat. Dead or crowded conifers near buildings are a fire problem, so move them up the list before summer. Heavy limbs over a roof are a snow problem; prune them before the January peak. A risk assessment covers both, and for work inside town limits, call the city first.

Then check the contractor through the Washington license lookup and compare its quote with the modeled range on the cost page.

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

Major storms that reached Okanogan County

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

• September 2024 eastern Washington windstorm
• January 2021 windstorm
• January 2017 ice storm