Safety First: Assessing Storm Damage Safely
Heavy Front Range winds, sudden summer microbursts, and early heavy snowstorms can break even the healthiest tree canopies. When a storm leaves broken branches hanging or entire trunks leaning across your driveway, taking immediate, safe action is critical. The period immediately following a storm is when most tree-related accidents occur due to unstable limbs and electrical hazards.
Crucial Rule: Never approach or attempt to trim any tree that is touching, or is within 10 feet of, a power line. Always assume all downed power lines are energized and highly lethal. Contact your utility provider immediately to cut the power before calling a tree service.
Common Post-Storm Tree Hazards
1. "Hangers" (Widow-makers)
Hangers are large broken branches that remain suspended in the upper canopy. These limbs can fall without warning, even on a completely calm day, under their own weight or during minor wind gusts. Keep families and pets away from the area beneath a tree's canopy until an arborist can safely extract suspended branches.
2. Split Trunks and Co-dominant Stems
Co-dominant stems (trunks that grow in a 'V' shape from a single point) are prone to splitting down the center during high winds. A split trunk is structurally unstable and can fall at any moment. These trees often require immediate crane assistance to relieve stress and take down the hazard safely.
3. Root Heave
Inspect the soil around the base of leaning trees. If the ground is cracking, lifting, or heaving, the root system has failed, and the tree is in danger of falling. These trees must be braced or taken down immediately.
Documenting Tree Damage for Insurance Claims
Homeowner's insurance policies typically cover tree removal costs if a tree falls on an insured structure (like your house, garage, or fence) during a storm. However, coverage is usually limited if the tree falls onto an open lawn without damaging structures. Follow these steps to document the damage for your claim:
- Prioritize Safety: Do not climb onto roofs or damaged areas to take photos. Take photos from a safe distance on the ground.
- Take Broad and Detailed Photos: Photograph the tree from multiple angles showing:
- The fallen tree and the damaged structure in a single frame to prove impact.
- Close-up photos of the damage to your property.
- The root zone of the tree showing it was uprooted by the storm.
- Do Not Clear Evidence Immediately: While you should take steps to prevent further damage (such as covering a punctured roof with a tarp), do not clear or dispose of the tree limbs until your insurance adjuster has reviewed the damage or authorized clearance.
- Get an Arborist Invoice: Ensure your tree contractor provides a detailed, itemized invoice breaking down the cost of structural hazard removal versus general lawn debris hauling, as insurance companies require this breakdown.
24/7 Priority Dispatch Services
NoCo Services operates a dedicated 24-hour storm dispatch hotline. We work closely with municipal crews and insurance adjusters to provide emergency tree extraction, crane rigging, and structural clearing to secure properties across Larimer, Weld, and Boulder counties.
Understanding Wind Shear and Ice Loading on Front Range Trees
The Front Range of Colorado is notorious for extreme weather shifts, from sudden 80 mph Chinook wind gusts to heavy, wet spring snows. These forces place immense structural load on mature trees. Deciduous species like Plains Cottonwoods and Siberian Elms are highly susceptible to wind shear due to their massive, sprawling canopies. When snow falls before trees have dropped their autumn leaves, the surface area increases exponentially, leading to catastrophic limb failure. Conifers, such as Ponderosa Pines and Colorado Blue Spruce, are adapted to shed snow, but sub-zero winter temperatures make their wood brittle and prone to trunk snaps. Understanding these physics is key to hazard prevention. Our certified arborists conduct structural audits, checking for codominant stems (split trunks) that lack strong connective wood and are highly vulnerable to tearing apart during high-wind events.
Emergency Rigging, Tension Wood, and Springpoles
Clearing downed trees after a storm is one of the most hazardous tasks in the arborist industry. When a tree falls against a house or utility line, it remains under extreme physical tension. Cutting a limb without calculating its load can cause the trunk to snap back violently—a phenomenon known as a 'springpole'. Similarly, wood under compression behaves very differently than wood under tension. Making a cut on the wrong side of a bent limb will pinch the chainsaw bar, trapping the operator, or cause the log to split rapidly (known as 'barber chairing'). NoCo Services utilizes advanced block-and-tackle rigging, high-tonnage cranes, and heavy-duty winch lines to secure hazardous trees before a single cut is made. By stabilizing the load first, we ensure that limbs are systematically relieved of tension and safely lowered to the ground, eliminating risks to your home and our crew.