Clearing after a storm

Storm work is the one clearing category where the material actively resists being cut. Stored tension in leaning and hung-up stems is a hazard that ordinary clearing experience does not prepare anyone for.

Published by the Land Clearing Authority editorial team · Last revised 2026-07-29 · Editorial policy · Corrections

Who this is for

Owners with wind or ice damage across a wooded property
Anyone with hung-up, leaning, or uprooted stems near a structure or a route
People whose cleanup may be covered by an insurance policy

The short answer

Deal with hazard before tidiness. Anything leaning on a structure, suspended in another tree, or blocking an emergency route comes first, and some of it is not work for a general clearing crew.

Storm-damaged material stores energy. A bent stem, a partially uprooted root plate, and a hung-up limb all release that energy unpredictably when cut, which is why this work has a worse injury record than routine felling.

Document before you clear if a claim is involved. Photographs of the damage in place, dated, are the evidence; once material is cut and stacked, the scene the adjuster needed no longer exists.

Volume is the other surprise. A storm converts standing growth into a much larger volume of tangled material, and haulage costs scale with that rather than with the number of trees down.

What changes the answer

Whether anything is on, against, or above a structure
Whether stems are hung up, leaning, or partially uprooted
Whether an insurance claim is being made
Whether access routes are blocked
Whether utility conductors are involved in any way
How much material has to leave the property

The order storm work has to happen in

Sequence here is a safety matter, and the first two rows are not clearing work at all.

Storm cleanup priority order and who handles each stage
Priority	Situation	Who handles it
First	Anything touching or near conductors	The utility. Nobody else.
Second	Material on or against a structure	Qualified tree crew, rigging required
Third	Hung-up and suspended stems	Qualified tree crew
Fourth	Blocked access and egress routes	Tree or clearing crew
Fifth	Leaning stems under tension	Crew experienced with storm work
Sixth	Ground debris and scattered material	Clearing crew
Last	Stumps and root plates	Below-grade trade, once above ground is clear

Why stored tension makes this different work

The mechanics are worth understanding even if you will not be doing the cutting, because they explain why competent contractors decline parts of this work.

A stem bent and held by another has elastic energy stored along its length. Cutting it releases that energy in a direction determined by the load path, which is often not the direction the stem appears to want to go. Butt ends spring, tops sweep, and the whole assembly can shift at once.

A partially uprooted tree is worse, because the root plate is a hinge under load. Relieving the weight of the top can allow the plate to rotate back into the hole, moving several tonnes without warning.

This is why storm work is priced higher per unit than routine clearing and why it is slower. A crew working carefully through tensioned material is doing the job correctly, not padding the hours.

Documentation, if a claim is involved

Cleanup destroys evidence, and evidence is what a claim runs on. This is one of the few places where the right first action involves a camera rather than a saw.

Photograph the damage in place from several angles, including wide shots that establish location and close shots that show the specific damage. Capture anything that shows what struck what. Keep the dates.

Then read what your policy actually covers before agreeing a scope. Policies commonly treat removal of material that damaged an insured structure differently from removal of material lying in a field, and some have specific limits for debris removal. What is covered varies by policy and by insurer, and the only reliable source is your own documents and adjuster.

Keep receipts and a written scope from the contractor. An itemised scope is easier to submit than a single total.

The volume problem, and why quotes look high

Owners are frequently shocked by storm cleanup pricing, and the reason is geometric rather than opportunistic.

An intact tree is compact and vertical. The same tree failed is spread across the ground with its crown intact and its branches interlocked with everything around it. The volume to be handled is far larger, it is tangled rather than stackable, and it cannot be worked systematically because each piece is restrained by others.

On top of that, everything is on the ground rather than at working height, access is often compromised by the same debris, and material has to be dragged to a point where it can be processed or loaded.

The realistic expectation is that storm cleanup on a wooded parcel takes longer and produces more material than an owner estimates by counting stems.

What to do in the first forty-eight hours

The immediate actions that preserve options and reduce risk, in order.

Report anything involving conductors to the utility and keep everyone away from it.
Photograph everything before anything is moved.
Identify and mark hazards you can see: hung-up material, leaning stems, uprooted plates.
Do not walk under suspended material, and keep others out of those areas.
Notify your insurer and ask what documentation they want before cleanup.
Get a written scope rather than accepting door-to-door work at a verbal price.

What drives the cost

Cost drivers on this kind of project
Driver	Effect
Tension and instability	Rigging and careful release take time and require qualified crews.
Proximity to structures	Work near buildings is slower, riskier, and rated differently.
Tangled volume	Interlocked material cannot be handled systematically or stacked efficiently.
Access degradation	The debris blocking the site is also blocking the machines that would clear it.
Root plate handling	Uprooted plates carry soil, are heavy, and leave large holes.
Demand surge	After a widespread event, local capacity is the binding constraint.

Common mistakes

Clearing before photographing, when a claim is involved
Approaching anything near a downed conductor
Cutting a hung-up or leaning stem without understanding the load path
Estimating volume by counting fallen trees
Hiring an unverified crew because the situation feels urgent

Questions to ask a contractor

Which parts of this do you consider outside what your crew should take on?
How do you handle the stems that are hung up or under tension?
Can you itemise the scope so I can submit it to my insurer?
What is your plan for the root plates and the holes they leave?

What to do next

Report anything involving conductors and keep clear of it
Photograph all damage before moving anything
Contact your insurer about documentation before cleanup starts
Get a written, itemised scope rather than a verbal total

Questions people actually ask

Is storm cleanup covered by insurance?

Sometimes, partly, and it depends on your policy. Cover for removing material that damaged an insured structure is often treated differently from removing material that simply fell. Read your policy and ask your adjuster; nobody else can tell you what yours covers.

Can a regular clearing contractor do storm work?

For scattered ground debris in the open, usually yes. For hung-up stems, material against a structure, or partially uprooted trees, that is qualified tree work with rigging. A good contractor will tell you which parts they are declining.

Why is storm cleanup more expensive per tree?

Because the material is tangled, on the ground, under tension, and often in a compromised working area. All of that reduces production and raises risk. It is slower work rather than more expensive work for the same effort.

Should I deal with the stumps at the same time?

Usually after the above-ground material is clear, because below-grade work among debris is inefficient and unsafe. Uprooted plates are a special case — they are already partly out, and dealing with them while the machine is on site can be sensible.