Storm Emergency
If a tree just came down on your house, you do not need a lecture — you need the next three steps. Here is exactly what to do, in order, from the crew that takes these calls across Clay County and Jacksonville every hurricane season.
A tree resting on a roof is not stable. It can shift, roll, or punch further through without warning, and ceilings under the impact zone can collapse hours later. Get everyone — pets included — out from under the damaged section of the house, and keep people away from the side of the house the tree fell from. If the tree took down a power line on the way, stay inside away from windows and call the utility's emergency line before anything else.
If the impact is near your electric panel, water heater, or gas line and you can reach the shutoffs without going near the damage, turn them off. A compromised roof plus live wiring or a gas line is a second emergency waiting in line behind the first. If reaching the shutoff means walking under the tree or a sagging ceiling, skip it.
Once everyone is safe, take photos and video from every angle — the tree, the roofline, the interior damage, and the rest of the property. Your insurance claim will be built on these, and they need to be taken before the tree is cut off the house. Wide shots showing the whole scene matter as much as close-ups.
Report the claim as soon as you can. Most homeowner policies in Florida cover removal of a tree that hits a covered structure. Ask your adjuster two things up front: whether they need to see the tree in place before removal, and what your emergency-mitigation coverage allows. In a named storm they are usually fine with immediate removal for safety — but ask, and write down the answer.
Getting a tree off a structure is rigging work, not firewood cutting. The tree is loaded like a spring, the roof under it is already weak, and one wrong cut drops the full weight through the ceiling. We crane or rig the tree off in controlled lifts, then tarp the opening so rain does not do more damage than the tree did.
Do not climb on the roof to look at it. Do not cut limbs off the downed tree yourself — tensioned wood snaps back with force that kills people every hurricane season. Do not hire the out-of-state crew knocking on doors with a chainsaw and no insurance; if they get hurt on your property or drop the trunk through your living room, that is your problem. Ask for proof of insurance before anyone touches the tree.
Estimates are free and nothing is due until the work is done. Call (904) 762-3786
