Quick answer
Yes. We handle storm calls and planned work across Holmesburg, from the river side to the Pennypack Creek parkland and Pennypack Woods. Hurricane Sandy showed in 2012 what a big wind does here: trees snapped, uprooted and dropped on cars. The rest of the work is pruning and removing tall trees near the park before the next one. Phones are answered 24/7.
What Sandy did on Cresco Avenue and Rhawn Street
Hurricane Sandy reached Holmesburg in October 2012 with gusts up to 70 mph. It snapped a tree on the 8000 block of Cresco Avenue, uprooted another that closed Rhawn Street between Winchester and Cresco avenues, and dropped one onto two cars in the Pennypack Woods community.
Sandy is one storm on a long list. The February 2014 ice storm, the March 2018 nor'easter, the June 2020 derecho and Isaias in August 2020 were all tree events among PECO's largest outages, and the Juneteenth 2025 storms cut power to roughly 327,000 PECO customers as trees fell onto lines.
Snapped and uprooted are different failures. A trunk that snaps usually had decay at the break; a tree that tips over usually had soaked soil or damaged roots. Both often show warning signs months ahead, which is what a tree inspection looks for.
Holmesburg calls, storm and otherwise
Most Holmesburg work clusters around storms: the cleanup after one, and the pruning that heads off the next.
- Fallen Tree RemovalA trunk across a car, a driveway or a fence, cut up and lifted off once the scene is safe.
- Emergency Tree RemovalA tree on the house after a storm, taken off the roof in pieces before more rain gets in.
- Broken & Hanging Limb RemovalBroken limbs left hung up in a crown after high wind, lowered on ropes instead of left to fall.
- Storm Damage CleanupBranches and debris across yards and walks after a storm, chipped and hauled away.
- Tree Inspection & Risk AssessmentA pre-storm check on tall trees near the Pennypack parkland and Pennypack Woods.
After a tree comes down: who does what
When a storm drops a tree on private property in Philadelphia, it is the owner's to resolve. Call 911 for a tree on a house or car, or one blocking the road. Trees on power lines go to PECO, which does not handle cable or telecom lines. Once the scene is safe, clearing the debris is left to residents.
That last part is our work: cutting the trunk off the roof or the car, taking down broken limbs still hanging in the crown, and hauling the wood away. If a wire is involved, no saw touches the tree until PECO says the line is safe. The fallen tree guide walks through the same order in more detail.
Between the Pennypack and the Delaware
Holmesburg has water on two sides: the Delaware River on the east and Pennypack Creek along part of its western edge. Land along the Pennypack had been taken for parkland by 1905, and Pennypack on the Delaware is among its riverside recreation areas. Frankford Avenue crosses the creek on a stone arch bridge built in 1697, the oldest of its kind in continuous use in the country.
Homes near that parkland have tall trees just past the fence. Limbs reaching over a roof from that side are the ones to cut back in the quiet months, before the next storm puts the question for you.
Holmesburg tree questions
If anyone is hurt or the tree blocks the road, call 911. If wires are down, call PECO. Then call us to cut the tree off the car and clear it away.
Yes, at any hour. We will tell you what can safely be done right away, such as securing a hanging limb, and what has to wait for daylight.
That depends on your policy and on what the tree hit. Photograph everything before any cutting, call your insurer early, and we can describe the work in writing for the claim.
Yes. We look for dead tops, cracks, root damage and lean, then tell you which trees or limbs need work now and which can wait.
Neighbors of Holmesburg
Tree down in Holmesburg?
Make sure everyone is clear of it, then call. We answer at any hour and will tell you what happens next.