Emergency tree removal in Texas

Most of Texas runs on a deregulated market. The company you pay is a retail electric provider; it doesn't own or repair poles and lines. Downed lines, limbs on lines and outages go to the transmission and distribution utility for your area: Oncor across Dallas–Fort Worth and much of North and West Texas, CenterPoint Energy in greater Houston, AEP Texas in South and parts of West Texas, and Texas-New Mexico Power in scattered areas.

Not everyone is in that market. Austin (Austin Energy), San Antonio (CPS Energy) and many other cities run their own utilities, and rural areas are often served by electric cooperatives. Your bill or the utility's outage map tells you who to call. Either way, a tree crew can't start on a tree touching a primary line until the utility has made it safe.

Texas tree emergencies come from different hazards in different places. Spring and early summer bring hail, straight-line winds and tornadoes across North Texas and the Panhandle. The Gulf Coast faces hurricanes and tropical storms from June through November, with uprooted pines and water oaks in Houston and Beaumont. Winter storms bring ice to Central and North Texas, like the February 2021 storm and Austin's February 2023 ice storm, which broke huge numbers of live oak and pecan limbs.

Drought adds a quieter emergency: stressed trees shed large limbs on calm summer days. A big limb dropping without wind is a reason to have the rest of the tree checked before it drops another.

Texas cities generally maintain trees in the street right-of-way, and TxDOT handles state highways. If a public tree falls on your property, report it to the city (often via 311) before paying anyone; some cities will remove it as an emergency. Trees that grew on your property are your responsibility even when they fall into the street, though the city may clear what's blocking traffic.

Houston, for example, treats a right-of-way tree on a house as an emergency through 311 and the Parks Urban Rangers. See emergency tree removal in Houston for that city's numbers.

Oak wilt is widespread in Central Texas, and fresh wounds on oaks let beetles carry it in, especially February through June. Storm emergencies can't wait for the calendar, but every oak cut and torn limb should be painted right away, in any month. Don't move or stack fresh red oak firewood from infected areas next to healthy oaks. More in tree trimming in Austin.

There's no single price. A tree on a roof that must be lifted off in sections costs much more than one lying across the lawn; nights, weekends and post-storm demand add more, and a crane is billed by the hour with a minimum. After a regional storm, written quotes before work starts protect you from inflated bills.

On permits and fees: under Texas Local Government Code 212.905, a city can't charge a tree mitigation fee for removing a tree under 10 inches in diameter (measured 4.5 feet up) at an owner's one- or two-family home, and where it does charge one, it must allow a planting credit. See the emergency tree removal cost guide.