Emergency tree service in Spokane, Washington

First hour: who to call

Work through the first hour in order. People first: get everyone out of any room under a damaged section, and keep clear of downed lines, which can be energized even when silent. Then hazards: call 911 for a line on the ground or a tree through an occupied room, and your electric utility to report the outage. This page does not yet map Spokane’s utility; your bill and the utilities page list the outage number.

Only then the tree. A street tree in the planting strip normally needs an SMC 12.02.960 permit, but the code allows emergency hazard work as long as Parks & Recreation – Urban Forestry (509-363-5495) gets notice within one business day. Make that call the next morning and keep a record of it. Private trees need no city permit at all.

Storm records for Spokane County

Spokane County ranks 1st of 39 Washington counties with 707 NOAA storm reports since 2016. Heavy snow accounts for 469 of them, and 69% of all reports land between November and February, with January the peak month.

FEMA’s National Risk Index rates ice storm Very High for the county at 97.0, wind Relatively High at 91.2 and winter weather Relatively High at 87.8. Summer has its own call-outs: thunderstorm wind (46 reports) and wildfire (43) are the next most common types. Report counts fell to 104 in the last three years from 201 in the three before, so a quiet stretch is not proof the next winter will be one.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: Northeast Mountains; Spokane Area; Washington Palouse.

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).

Insurance and documentation

Document before anything is moved. Photograph the tree, the roof, the fence and the vehicle from several angles, with the stump or root plate in frame if it failed at the base. Write down the time, and keep receipts for tarps and emergency work.

Homeowner policies usually cover removal of a tree that damaged a covered structure, and often not one that fell in open yard; how that plays out is explained in Washington storm damage and tree insurance. Ask the crew for an itemized invoice that separates removal from the structure from cleanup, since adjusters treat them differently. For a tree already down, see fallen tree removal.

Full guide: storm-damaged trees and insurance in Washington.

What emergency work costs

Emergency rates run above the modeled range below because night work, rigging off a damaged structure and a crane on short notice all add hours. A tree hung up in another tree, or resting on a roof, is the slowest and most expensive case.

BLS puts the Spokane-Spokane Valley mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners at $25.94 an hour on an employment base of 90. After a county-wide snow event, those crews are booked fast, and that scarcity moves a bid more than the wage does (method).

Modeled estimate, not quotes (method): crew-hours × $210 per crew-hour; ×1.25 within 10 ft of a structure, ×1.3 with no truck access; a crane day adds $1,500–$3,500; stump grinding is separate.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013. Checked 2026-10-02.

What to do next

Keep the order straight: people out of danger, 911 or the utility for lines, photos before cleanup, then a crew. If a street tree is involved, call Urban Forestry within one business day of the work.

Once the immediate danger is gone, check the crew through the Washington tree service license lookup, and for trees that survived but look cracked, book a tree risk assessment. More on emergency tree service and the Spokane County storm record.

Back to tree service in Spokane · Emergency tree service across WA and OR · Emergency tree service in Washington · cost guide.