Storm Damage Tree Removal in Denver What to Do When Trees Go Down

A tree can look fine after a storm and still be a hazard. That's the part most homeowners don't expect.

Denver gets a strange mix of weather. Hail one week, heavy wet snow on leafed-out branches the next, then wind gusts pushing off the foothills that snap limbs nobody saw coming. Our clay-heavy soil doesn't help either. It holds water after a downpour, then goes rock hard in dry spells. Roots stay shallow because of it. So when a storm hits, the tree doesn't always fail where you'd think.

Here's the thing about internal cracks. You won't see them from the ground. A large branch can split partway through the trunk and just hang there, held by a few fibers of wood. Looks stable. Isn't. We've climbed trees that seemed untouched and found cracks running two feet down into the heartwood, invisible from below.

Cottonwoods and Siberian elms are especially bad about this. Both grow fast, both have weak wood, and both are all over older Denver neighborhoods with mature tree canopy. A May snowstorm on a fully leafed cottonwood adds serious weight fast, more than the branch structure was built to hold.

Root damage is the other sneaky one. Wind doesn't have to snap a trunk to hurt a tree. It can rock the root ball just enough to tear roots underground while the tree stays upright. Weeks later, that tree leans or drops without warning.

This is why we never call a storm-damaged tree "fine" just because it's still standing. Standing and safe aren't the same thing.

And when a storm does bring one all the way down, our fallen tree removal crew clears it fast.

Not every storm-bent tree needs to come down. That surprises people. A tree can look rough after a windstorm and still be perfectly savable.

Here's the honest truth: a split leader, some broken branches, or a lean caused by saturated soil doesn't automatically mean removal. Thomas Fraser, our ISA-Certified Arborist, has spent 30 years telling homeowners exactly this, sometimes talking them out of a removal they were sure they needed. If the trunk is intact and the root system held, a tree can often recover with crown reduction or deadwooding to clear out the broken and hanging limbs. Tree health maintenance afterward helps it heal and handle the next storm better.

So how do you know the difference? Look at the trunk first. A few cracked branches up top is a pruning job. A split running down into the main trunk is a different story entirely. Root movement matters too, if the ground is heaved up on one side and the tree shifted, that's a structural problem no amount of trimming fixes.

We get calls all the time from folks who saw a few downed limbs after a Front Range windstorm and assumed the whole tree was a goner. It's not. A tree risk assessment settles it fast, our team looks at the crown, the trunk, and the root flare, then tells you straight whether it's a trim-and-monitor situation or something more serious.

We'd rather save a tree than cut one down for no reason. That's not the sales pitch, that's just how we do the job. If your tree can be pruned back into shape and kept healthy, we'll say so. Removal is for trees that are unsafe, not for every tree that took a hit in a storm.

Most homeowners policies cover storm damage tree removal when a tree falls on your house, your garage, or your fence. Here's the part people don't expect, though. If that same tree falls in your yard and misses everything, your insurance company often won't pay a dime toward removal. It's frustrating. Call your agent before you call anyone else, get clear on what's covered, and ask if they need photos before the tree comes down.

Denver homeowners near mature street trees should also know the city has rules about work done near the public right of way, so check with the city before cutting anything close to the sidewalk or curb strip.

So what drives the cost up or down on a storm job? A few things, every time.

• How the tree is positioned. Leaning on a structure costs more to manage than one lying flat in the open.
• Access. A tree blocking your driveway is a different job than one wedged between two houses.
• Size and species. A big cottonwood takes more time and more equipment than a smaller ornamental.
• Whether it's tangled in power lines. That changes the whole approach and who needs to be called first.