The first hour
- Get people clear. Move the family out of whatever rooms sit beneath the trunk, and away from that side of the house. A trunk lying on a roof can shift as rain soaks it or wind moves the crown.
- Treat every wire as live. Alabama Power's safety page says: "Always assume a downed power line is live and life-threatening," and "Do not attempt to remove tree limbs or any other object from a downed line." Call 1-800-888-2726, or 911 if someone is caught in the lines (checked Nov 12, 2026).
- Take pictures and video. The Alabama Department of Insurance tells storm victims to photograph or video the damage, and to contact their insurance company or agent immediately.
- Stop the rain, nothing more. The same guide says to make only the repairs needed to prevent further damage, warns that "Unauthorized repairs may not be reimbursed," and says to keep receipts for emergency repairs.
- Then the tree. With the lines made safe and the claim opened, a contractor can take the tree off the house.
Don't climb onto the roof to cut a trunk resting on it, and don't run a chainsaw into wood that's bent, pinned or twisted. Wood under load can spring loose when it's cut. That's the work to hand to a crew.
Downed lines and Alabama Power
Alabama Power says plainly that "There are more outages caused by trees or tree limbs falling on power lines and power poles than by the weather alone" (checked Nov 12, 2026). After a storm:
- Report a downed line at 1-800-888-2726. Outages can also be reported online, and the company keeps an outage map at outagemap.alabamapower.com (checked Nov 12, 2026).
- Never touch or drive over a downed line, in the company's words.
- Expect the wood to stay. After severe weather Alabama Power cuts fallen trees and brush as needed to restore lines, but it doesn't haul the wood away. Disposal of wood, limbs or debris from emergency storm cleanup is "the responsibility of the property owner" (checked Nov 12, 2026).
How long the power stays off depends on the size of the storm. In Hurricane Ivan, Alabama Power's outages peaked at 835,000 on September 16, 2004, and the storm affected more than 60% of its customers (U.S. Department of Energy situation report, September 17, 2004). Hurricane Zeta in October 2020 cut power to more than 600,000 Alabama Power customers, and restoring it meant replacing some 2,700 poles (Southern Company, November 6, 2020). Hurricane Opal in 1995 left 2.6 million people in Alabama without electricity, "some for over a week," according to the National Weather Service.
A tree across the road
If wires are in it, call Alabama Power first, and 911 if anyone is in danger. For the road itself (all checked Nov 12, 2026):
| Where | Who to call |
|---|---|
| Any road, after hours or urgent | St. Clair County Sheriff's countywide non-emergency line, 205-884-3333 |
| County roads | County Engineer / Road Department, 31588 Highway 231, Ashville, 205-594-2190 |
| Pell City streets | Pell City Street Department, (205) 884-8267 |
| State highways | Alabama Department of Transportation main line, (334) 353-6554 |
| Countywide emergencies | St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, 205-884-6800 |
The county's road page doesn't list after-hours numbers, which is why the sheriff's non-emergency line comes first.
What storms have done to trees here
National Weather Service Birmingham has surveyed many damage paths in St. Clair County. Its pages show how often trees, and especially trees falling onto homes, are the story.
April 27, 2011
Before dawn, a line of storms moving at 60 to 70 mph crossed Pell City and Riverside between about 6:15 and 6:25 a.m. Surveyors found a swath of straight-line wind damage, from winds they put at 80 to 100 mph, running from just west of the St. Clair County Courthouse across Pell City, Industrial Park Drive and Interstate 20 and through Riverside. "The most significant damage was several large trees that were uprooted, which caused damage to homes and structures," the survey says, and "One fatality was caused when a large oak tree was uprooted and fell on a manufactured home." Dozens more homes had minor roof damage.
The same morning, in Moody, numerous trees were blown down and snapped along US-411 in the business district, and northeast of the Brompton community a tree fell onto a mobile home and fatally injured one of the people inside. In Odenville, an EF-2 tornado with 120 mph winds ran 3.84 miles and injured five people.
That evening the Argo–Shoal Creek–Ohatchee–Forney tornado crossed into the county near Argo, strengthened rapidly to EF-4 with 170 mph winds, and caused extensive damage along Shoal Creek Road. "At least 14 fatalities occurred along Shoal Creek Rd." Across its whole path, the Weather Service counts 22 deaths and 81 injuries, and says "many thousands of trees were uprooted, snapped, and reduced to spiked stumps." Across Central Alabama that day, 29 tornadoes were confirmed and 240 people lost their lives.
FEMA's disaster declaration for those storms, FEMA-1971-DR, covered debris removal in all 67 Alabama counties from the start, and later amendments added St. Clair County for Individual Assistance and for the remaining categories of Public Assistance (Federal Register, May 2011).
Other damage paths in the county
| Date | Storm | What it did to trees |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 24, 2001 | Pell City tornado, F2, 4.5 miles | Two minor injuries; a survey photo shows a house damaged with a tree on a car |
| Feb 26, 2008 | Pell City–Cropwell tornado, EF-1, 105 mph | "several hundred trees were uprooted or snapped," including 50 to 100 just north of the Wolf Creek Volunteer Fire Department |
| Aug 25, 2008 | Tropical Storm Fay tornado, EF-1, 90 mph | Mostly snapped softwood trees; a few structures with minor damage from fallen trees |
| Dec 10, 2008 | Moody tornado, EF-1, 95 mph | "Approximately 100 trees were either uprooted or snapped off," between Moody and Odenville |
| Apr 19, 2009 | Ashville tornado, EF-1, 100 mph | About 50 trees snapped or uprooted |
| May 27, 2024 | Straight-line winds, 60 to 70 mph, gusts possibly 75 | The damage path ended near Pell City at 6:10 a.m.; numerous reports of trees and lines down across the region |
| Dec 28, 2024 | Coosa Island Road tornado, EF-0, 85 mph | "Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted, and many fell onto homes near Shady Brook Lane." |
| Dec 28, 2024 | Roberts Mill Pond Road tornado, EF-1, 110 mph | Hardwood timber snapped and uprooted north of Highway 27 |
Hurricanes reach this far inland too. In Hurricane Opal, on October 4, 1995, "high wind toppled a massive oak tree" onto a mobile home in Gadsden, in Etowah County just north of here, killing two people (NWS). For Hurricane Ivan in 2004, NWS Birmingham's page says "Tree and power line damage was extensive" and lists 6.50 inches of rain at Ashville, and St. Clair County was named for Individual Assistance under FEMA-1549-DR.
Insurance and the $500 limit
The Alabama Department of Insurance's guide to natural disasters says (checked Nov 12, 2026):
- "Generally, if you have homeowners insurance, your policy covers up to $500 toward tree removal."
- "This limit on coverage applies to all downed trees per event and is not paid on a per tree basis."
- If a tree damages the house or another insured structure, removing it from that structure is paid under the dwelling part of the policy.
- Many policies carry a separate wind, hail or hurricane deductible, often a dollar amount or a percentage of the home's insured value.
- Don't remove damaged property before the adjuster has seen it, keep receipts for emergency repairs and temporary living costs, and get any denial in writing.
- Without coverage, a local government may remove debris after a major storm, and you may be asked to sign a right-of-entry form.
ALDOI's Consumer Services line is (334) 269-3550 or 800-433-3966, and FEMA's is (800) 621-FEMA (as printed in the guide, checked Nov 12, 2026). When a neighbor's tree is the one on your roof, who pays depends on the policies involved; ask your own insurer first.
How a tree comes off a roof
Every storm job is different, but the work usually runs in this order:
- The crew reads the load. Which limbs are holding the trunk up, which are pinned under it, and which are under tension. Cutting the wrong one first can drop the trunk harder onto the house.
- Weight comes off in small pieces. The crown is taken apart from the outside in, each piece tied off and lowered, until the trunk is light enough to lift or roll off.
- A crane, when nothing else is safe. A big trunk across a roof may be lifted off whole or in sections. HomeGuide puts crane use at $500 to $2,500 a day extra (checked Nov 12, 2026).
- Uprooted trees need care at the base. A root plate standing on edge, like the one in the photo above, can tip back toward its hole once the trunk is cut away.
- Snapped trees leave hangers. A pine broken partway up often leaves its top hung in other trees, and a jagged stub that still has to come down.
- Then the cover. Once the tree is off, the roof can be tarped or repaired.
Storm prices and door-to-door crews
HomeGuide puts storm damage or emergency tree removal at $150 to $250 an hour. Angi says an urgent job can run as high as $5,000, and Forbes Home puts urgent removal at about $2,500 on average (all national figures, checked Nov 12, 2026).
Alabama law has two protections that matter after a storm:
- Price gouging. During a declared state of emergency, Ala. Code § 8-31-3 makes unconscionable prices for any commodity, rental or service unlawful in the areas named in the governor's proclamation or a joint resolution of the legislature. Section 8-31-4 adds a yardstick for commodities and rental facilities: a price 25 percent or more above the average of the 30 days before the declaration is prima facie evidence of an unconscionable price, unless reasonable costs explain the increase. That 25 percent test doesn't mention services (checked Nov 12, 2026).
- Three days to cancel. When a sale is solicited at your home, Ala. Code § 5-19-12 gives you until midnight of the third business day after signing to cancel. In a real emergency you can waive that right, but only with a separate, dated and signed personal statement that describes the emergency; printed waiver forms aren't allowed (checked Nov 12, 2026).
The Alabama Department of Insurance also tells storm victims to be wary of anyone asking for a large payment up front or offering a price that seems unusually low. Report problems to the Alabama Attorney General's consumer hotline, 1-800-392-5658 or 334-242-7335 (checked Nov 12, 2026). The hiring guide covers what to get in writing.
The brush pile afterward
Alabama Power leaves the wood, and in Pell City the curb has limits. Residents can set out up to 6 cubic yards of brush every other week, in pieces under 5 feet long and 6 inches thick; a storm-felled trunk won't qualify, and the city won't collect anything a tree service cuts (checked Nov 12, 2026). Hauling belongs in the contractor's price. Outside city limits, Pell City's page points people to Arrow Disposal Services.
Storm damage questions in St. Clair County
Can I cut the tree off the house myself?
Small limbs on the ground, maybe. A trunk on the roof, or anything touching a wire, no. Alabama Power says not to remove limbs from a downed line, and wood pinned against a house can spring when it's cut.
Will Alabama Power take the tree away?
It cuts what it must to restore the lines, but storm wood and debris are the property owner's responsibility, in its own words (checked Nov 12, 2026).
A crew knocked on my door offering to start now. Should I sign?
Read what you sign. Alabama's home solicitation law gives you three business days to cancel a sale made at your home, and the state's price law applies during a declared emergency. Be careful with large upfront payments.
The tree fell but missed the house. Is it still urgent?
If it's on a wire, hanging in other trees, or blocking the only way in or out, treat it as urgent. A trunk lying flat in the yard can usually wait for a daylight visit and a written price.
This site sends no crews. A request made through it reaches one independent contractor who works in Pell City and St. Clair County.
Source notes
- Alabama Power, Power Line Safety, Trees and Rights of Way and outage map. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
- NWS Birmingham: Morning Straight Line Wind Damage on April 27, 2011, Odenville Tornado, Argo-Shoal Creek-Ohatchee-Forney Tornado, Historic Outbreak of April 27, 2011, Pell City Tornado 2001, Pell City-Cropwell 2008, Tropical Storm Fay St. Clair tornado, Moody Tornado, Ashville Tornado, May 27, 2024, December 28, 2024, Hurricane Opal and Hurricane Ivan. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
- FEMA, FEMA-1971-DR initial notice; Federal Register amendments 2011-11300 and 2011-12909; archived FEMA-1549-DR county list. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Energy, Hurricane Ivan Situation Report #4 (archived); Southern Company, Restoration complete following Hurricane Zeta. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
- St. Clair County, County Engineer / Road Department and directory; City of Pell City, State and County Resources and Solid Waste Disposal; ALDOT, dot.state.al.us. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
- Alabama Department of Insurance, An Insurance Preparedness Guide for Natural Disasters; Ala. Code § 8-31-3, § 8-31-4 and § 5-19-12; Alabama Attorney General, Consumer Complaint. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
- Angi, How Much Does Tree Removal Cost?; HomeGuide, Tree Removal Cost; Forbes Home, Tree Removal Cost. Checked Nov 12, 2026.