Emergency Tree Service

Same-day during business hours (Mon to Fri 8 to 6, Sat 9 to 3) for jobs in the GTA, Hamilton, and KW corridor. Storm days are first-come-first-clear, and we triage by safety risk. Anything on a house, blocking a road, or against a power line jumps the line ahead of branches in a driveway. After hours we hold the call until next business morning unless the situation involves a live hydro contact (call your utility, not us, for those). Most weeks we can be on site within 2 to 6 hours of the call.

Emergency work runs 20 to 40 percent above the equivalent scheduled price because of crew bumping, evening loadout, and the rigging complexity of a tree that is already partly down or hung up in another tree. A 40-foot storm-snapped maple across a driveway is usually $800 to $1,800, versus $500 to $1,200 for the same tree taken down on schedule in fair weather. If the tree is on a house and a crane is needed, plan for $2,500 to $5,000 or more. Insurance often covers the difference. We give a written quote on site before any cutting and itemize the emergency surcharges so your adjuster sees them clearly.

Usually yes if a tree fell on your house, garage, fence, or vehicle. Most Ontario homeowner policies cover removal of the tree from the damaged structure plus the repair of what it hit. Coverage gets thinner if the tree just fell in the yard without hitting anything (often not covered) or if the tree was visibly dead and the insurer argues you should have removed it earlier (denial risk). We help on the documentation side: dated photos of the damage from multiple angles, a written cause-of-failure note (windload, rot, root failure, lightning), and an itemized invoice your adjuster can submit. We do not handle the claim itself. You submit through your broker. But our paperwork is built for it.

Three things if the situation is safe enough. First, stay away from anything touching a power line and call your utility (Hydro One, Toronto Hydro, Alectra, Elexicon, depending on the city) to drop the line first. We cannot legally cut around a live wire until they secure it. Second, photograph the damage from at least 4 angles before any clearing starts. Your insurance adjuster will want the before-state and so will we for the work plan. Third, keep family and pets clear of any branch that is partly hung up. Those are the unstable ones. If the tree is across a public road, call 311 (or 411 outside the city) to flag the hazard for transportation services. Anything beyond that, we will handle on arrival.

The utility handles the cut at no cost to you for primary lines (the high-voltage lines running pole to pole down the street). Call Hydro One, Toronto Hydro, Alectra Utilities, or Elexicon depending on your city. That number is on your power bill, or you can reach 911 for emergencies involving a live downed wire. Once the utility crew has secured or cut the line, we step in to remove the tree itself. For service drops (the wire running from the pole to your house) the responsibility splits depending on who owns which section. Usually the homeowner from the meter inward, the utility from the pole outward. We coordinate the cut with the utility before any rigging begins. Never approach a tree touching any wire even if the wire looks dead. Assume it is live until the utility confirms otherwise.

Yes, this is the right call most of the time. The first visit (often within hours) is hazard mitigation: cut the bare minimum to make the area safe, clear the driveway or walkway, tarp any roof opening to keep water out, and photograph everything for your insurance file. The full removal step (getting the rest of the tree down safely, hauling the wood, grinding the stump) usually happens 1 to 5 days later once we can schedule the proper crew size, equipment, and disposal trip. Splitting the work this way keeps your insurance documentation clean (the initial mitigation invoice goes in early so the adjuster opens the file) and avoids paying full-emergency rates on the parts of the work that can wait a few days.