Quick answer
If the tree fell on private property in Philadelphia, resolving it is the property owner's job. Call 911 when it hits a house or car, blocks a road, or traps anyone. Trees on power lines go to PECO, while cable and phone lines go to their own providers. Clearing the trunk and debris afterward falls to the owner, not the city.
The first hour, step by step
Most of the damage a fallen tree will do is already done when you find it. The first hour is about not adding to it, and about making the calls in the right order. The August 7, 2023 wind storm that dropped large trees onto homes and garages in Drexel Hill, part of Upper Darby, showed how a yard tree that looked fine can still go over in a straight-line wind.
- Get everyone out of rooms under the trunk and away from the canopy, which can still shift and drop limbs.
- Look for wires before you walk closer, and treat any wire touching the tree, the ground or a fence as live.
- Call 911 if the tree is on the house or a car with anyone inside, or if it blocks the road.
- Report wires in the tree: PECO for power lines, your cable or phone provider for theirs.
- Take photos from every side before anything is moved, for your insurer and for any neighbor conversation.
- Stay off the roof and keep the saw in the garage. A trunk under load can spring sideways when cut.
- Call a tree company to make it safe, then sort out the cleanup.
Your yard, your tree, your problem
Philadelphia puts trees on private land squarely on the owner, overhanging branches included. After a storm, a tree that falls on private property is the owner's to resolve, and residents are left to clear the debris themselves. The city does not send crews to cut up yard trees.
The rules have teeth for problems left standing, too. Tree violations can bring a $150 to $300 fine, owners usually get 30 days for non-emergency problems, and unpaid City work can become a lien on the property. A half-fallen tree leaning into a neighbor's yard is not something to leave for the season.
When the tree came from next door
Ownership follows the trunk. If your neighbor's tree fell into your yard, it is their tree, but in practice your own homeowners policy usually responds first to damage on your property, and insurers sort out the rest between themselves. Policies vary, so call your agent before assuming either way.
What you can do yourself is limited. A neighbor may cut back branches that cross the property line at their own expense, but may not go onto the other owner's land without permission. For a trunk lying across both yards, the simplest path is one call from both owners, with fallen tree removal handled as a single job and the bill split by agreement.
Tree down right now? Call us at any hour and tell us what it landed on.
Call (916) 312-2373Wires in the branches: who you actually call
Trees on power lines go to PECO. PECO does not handle cable or telecom lines, so a trunk resting on the low black cable needs a call to that provider instead. Many tree jobs need both, because the cable usually hangs below the power lines.
Trees are behind some of the worst outages the region has seen. The February 2014 ice storm cut power to about 713,800 PECO customers, the June 2020 derecho to about 453,700, with four deaths blamed on falling trees, and the Juneteenth 2025 storms to roughly 327,000 as trees fell onto lines. Once the utility has made a line safe, limbs hung up on a service wire can be cut free and lowered. Our guide to trees near power lines covers which lines are PECO's.
Getting a trunk off a roof or car
A tree resting on a house is a loaded structure. Pull the wrong piece and the rest shifts onto rafters that are already cracked. We take weight off from the top down, tying each section before it is cut, and sometimes bring in a crane to lift the trunk clear in one pick rather than rolling it across shingles.
Cars are lighter work but just as easy to make worse. Tarping the roof or the broken windshield comes after the weight is off. If the tree is still moving or blocking your only way out, that is emergency tree removal, and our phones are answered 24/7.
Storm cleanup across the city
Big storms turn one fallen tree into a whole block of them. In July 2026 severe storms with microbursts damaged trees in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, and the City operated under a declaration of disaster emergency during recovery, with tree recovery support sent into West and South Philadelphia.
Even then, the yard debris was the owners' to clear. After the trunk is off the house, the remaining limbs, rounds and leaves still have to go. That part is storm damage cleanup, and when it is mostly wood left in piles, a log and debris haul-away finishes it.
Fallen tree questions
Usually your own homeowners policy handles the damage to your house first, and insurers may then pursue the neighbor if the tree was plainly neglected. Coverage terms vary, so call your agent and keep your photos.
Call 911 if anyone is hurt, trapped, or the wire is sparking near people or a road. For a tree resting on power lines without immediate danger, call PECO. Cable lines go to your cable provider.
No. After a storm, Philadelphia residents are left to clear debris from trees that fell on private property. The trunk, limbs and leaves are the owner's to remove or hire out.
Small, loose limbs on open ground, maybe. Trunks pinned under other wood or bent against a fence store tension and can whip when cut, which is how many storm injuries happen. Leave loaded wood to a tree crew.
For non-emergency tree problems, Philadelphia owners usually get 30 days to fix a violation. A tree threatening a house, sidewalk or neighbor should be handled right away rather than on that clock.
Typically the comprehensive part of your auto policy, not your homeowners policy, covers the car itself. The tree removal may fall under either, depending on where it fell. Confirm with your agent.
Help when a tree comes down
Fallen Tree Removal
Rigging a trunk off a roof, car or garage without making the damage worse.
Emergency Tree Removal
A tree cracking, leaning hard or blocking the way out. We answer around the clock and make it safe first.
Storm Damage Cleanup
Limbs and trunks scattered after a microburst or nor'easter, cut up and hauled away.
Broken & Hanging Limb Removal
Snapped branches hung up in the crown, brought down before they drop on their own.
Tree on the house, the car or the fence?
Call us. We answer around the clock, come out to look, and take the weight off before we start the cleanup.