Spring Storm Damage: What to Do When a Tree Falls

Calgary's spring storms can arrive with little warning. One evening the sky darkens, wind gusts hit 100 kilometres per hour, and by morning a mature tree is lying across your driveway — or worse, on your roof. In those first disorienting moments, knowing what to do can protect your family, your property, and your remaining trees.

Step One: Assess the Danger

Before you do anything else, stay back and look for hazards. Downed trees frequently bring power lines with them. If you see a wire anywhere near the fallen tree, keep everyone — including pets — at least 10 metres away and call ENMAX at 403-514-6100 immediately. Never assume a downed line is dead. Even lines that appear inactive can carry lethal voltage.

Also look up. A tree that has partially fallen but is caught in the canopy of a neighbouring tree, known as a "hanger" or "widow maker," is extremely unstable. Do not walk beneath it or attempt to pull it down. This is a job for a professional with rigging equipment.

Step Two: Document Everything

Once you have confirmed there is no immediate life-safety risk, take photos and video from multiple angles before anything is moved. Your insurance company will want to see the damage in its original state. Photograph the tree, the root plate if it uprooted, any structural damage to your home or fence, and the general area. A timestamp on your phone camera is usually sufficient.

If the tree hit your house, call your insurance company right away. Most homeowner policies in Alberta cover sudden and accidental damage caused by fallen trees, including the cost of removal from the structure. Coverage for removing a tree that fell in the yard without hitting anything is less common, so it is worth checking your specific policy.

Step Three: Protect Your Property

If the tree has punctured your roof or broken a window, do what you can to minimize further damage. Covering a hole with a tarp is reasonable and expected by insurers. However, do not climb onto a compromised roof structure — it may be weaker than it looks. If water is entering your home, move valuables out of the affected area and place buckets or containers to collect water until a contractor can secure the opening.

Step Four: Call a Professional

Storm-damaged trees require specialized equipment and training to remove safely. A tree resting on a structure is under tension in ways that are not always visible. Cutting the wrong limb first can cause the trunk to shift suddenly, worsening the structural damage or injuring the person cutting. Certified arborists and professional tree service crews deal with these situations regularly and carry the insurance to back up their work.

After a major storm, every tree company in Calgary will be flooded with calls. A few tips to get the help you need quickly:

• Call early in the morning when dispatchers are freshest and scheduling the day.
• Be specific about what happened — tree on house versus tree on fence versus tree on ground. Companies prioritize structural emergencies.
• Ask if the company carries a minimum of $2 million in liability insurance. Storm-chasing crews sometimes arrive from out of province without adequate coverage.
• Get a written estimate before work begins, even in an emergency.

Can the Tree Be Saved?

Not every storm-damaged tree needs to come down. Trees that have lost large limbs but still have an intact trunk and a reasonable portion of their crown can often be restored with corrective pruning over the following two to three years. An arborist can evaluate the extent of damage and let you know whether the tree is worth saving.

Trees that have uprooted entirely are almost never salvageable once they reach a significant size. Small trees under about 10 centimetres in trunk diameter can sometimes be righted and staked, but larger trees have lost too much of their root system to recover.

Preventing Future Storm Damage

The best protection against storm damage is proactive maintenance. Trees that are regularly pruned to remove deadwood and reduce wind resistance are far less likely to fail in high winds. Species with brittle wood — such as Siberian elm, Manitoba maple, and poplar — deserve extra attention because they are most prone to storm breakage.

If you have large trees near your home, consider scheduling a risk assessment before storm season. Identifying weak branch unions, internal decay, and root issues before a storm hits is always less expensive than dealing with the aftermath.