Call (425) 369-8733 — Bellevue Storm & Emergency Tree Service

A Bellevue wind event does not wait for MyBuildingPermit. If a tree is on the house, on a car, blocking the only way out, hanging over a roof, or split and leaning after the storm, call MTS Tree and Landscape at (425) 369-8733 . The line is answered 24/7. We are a Sammamish tree company. Bellevue is a regular Eastside service city — Somerset hills, downtown tight lots, Bridle Trails estates, and I-405 corridor streets — not a side trip.

This page is for storm damage and true emergencies only. A stable dead fir, a crown that needs thinning, or a planned backyard removal belongs on our Bellevue tree removal or trimming pages.

Key takeaways

• Call (425) 369-8733 first. Stay out of the drop zone. Do not climb, chain-saw, or pull on a hang-up over a roof.
• If the tree is in or on wires: stay at least 35 feet back, call 911 for downed lines, then Puget Sound Energy at 1-888-225-5773. MTS does not work live wires. We take the tree once the utility says the lines are safe.
• Private-property trees in Bellevue are Development Services / Land Use (Clearing and Grading, BCC 23.76). Street trees and other right-of-way trees are Transportation or Parks — not a private-tree job. Critical areas and shorelines also follow LUC 20.25H and 20.25E.
• You can make a failing tree safe. Follow-up filing with the city is still required. We document the scene and help with the after-the-fact permit.
• We make the site safe, rig or crane the wood off the structure, haul debris, and can help tarp an opening the tree made. We are not a roofing contractor.
• We can photograph and write arborist notes for a homeowners claim. We do not promise the insurer will pay.

Tree on the house, driveway, or car? Call (425) 369-8733 .

What to do right now

1. Get people and pets out of the rooms or yard the tree can still hit. If anyone is hurt or trapped, call 911.
2. Stay back. A cracked fir on Somerset, a hung-up maple over an Enatai roof, or a cedar that split in Bridle Trails can finish falling without warning. Do not stand under it to “check the damage.”
3. If you see downed or sagging lines, or the tree is on a pole or service drop: stay at least 35 feet away. Call 911. Do not touch the tree, the fence, or standing water near it. Report it to Puget Sound Energy at 1-888-225-5773. Call MTS after the lines are safe.
4. If it is safe to do so from a distance, take photos: the tree on the structure, the point of impact, the blocked driveway, interior damage if you can reach it without walking under wood. Insurers and Bellevue Land Use both ask for this. Do not delay the safety call to stage a photoshoot.
5. Call MTS Tree and Landscape at (425) 369-8733 . Tell us the address, whether anyone is still in the house, whether lines are involved, and whether the only exit is blocked.
6. Do not DIY. A chainsaw in a compression bind, a rope on a hang-up over shingles, or “just dropping it into the street” is how a salvageable roof becomes a second claim. Leave the tree where it sits until a crew is on it.

Phone first. The quote form is for later, when the site is already safe.

What we do on a Bellevue emergency call

The job is make-safe, then clean-up — not a planned backyard take-down.

• Triage on the phone. Life-safety and occupied structures first. A tree on a Factoria living room beats a split alder that landed in a Lake Hills side yard and hit nothing.
• Make the tree safe. Cut and rig the parts that can still fail onto the house, the car, or the only way out. Sometimes that is a full removal. Sometimes it is a hang-up, a split leader, or a leaner that has to come down in sections.
• Crane or climbing/rigging when the lot is tight (Old Bellevue, downtown condos, Surrey Downs), the drop zone is a roof, or the hill on Somerset, Newport Hills, or Lakemont will not take a fall. We use a crane when it is the safer way to get wood off a structure.
• Haul. Storm wood, chips, and the pieces that were on the driveway leave with us unless you ask to keep firewood that is actually safe to keep.
• Tarps, not roofs. If the tree opened a hole, we can help get a tarp over it so weather stays out. Call a roofer for the repair. We will not claim we rebuilt the house.
• City follow-up. Photos, a qualified-tree-professional write-up when Land Use wants one, and the after-the-fact Clearing and Grading / tree-removal filing. If the tree is in a critical area or buffer, Bellevue also wants notice the day of the work and a permit application within 14 days. If it is a right-of-way tree, Transportation wants a ROW permit after the fact. We do not skip the paperwork because it was windy.

We are licensed, bonded, and insured. Climbers and crew leads train to ISA and L&I standards. We do not cut live electrical.

Call (425) 369-8733 .

Storm work vs planned removal

A wind-thrown cedar through a West Lake Sammamish garage is an emergency. A 70-foot fir you have been watching on a Somerset lot for two years is a planned removal, even if it makes you nervous.

Situation	This page	Other page
Tree on house, garage, or occupied room	Yes	—
Tree on a car	Yes	—
Only driveway / only exit blocked	Yes	—
Split, hung-up, or newly leaning over a roof after wind	Yes	—
Debris making the house unsafe to occupy	Yes	—
Dead or declining tree that is still standing and stable	No	Bellevue tree removal
Large or hazardous tree you want off before the next storm	No	Bellevue tree removal
Clearance, shape, or storm-proofing a healthy crown	No	Bellevue tree trimming
Stump left after the emergency wood is gone	After make-safe	Bellevue stump grinding

Emergency work is usually more involved than a scheduled job: night or weekend labor, tight urban access, crane time, and protecting a damaged roof. We give you a number for the work in front of us. We do not invent a citywide price list or a “storm surcharge percent” on this page.

For a tree that can wait, use Bellevue tree removal services. Call (425) 369-8733 either way if you are not sure.

Bellevue emergency rules, in plain language

This is a field guide, not a substitute for the code. Thresholds, the landmark-tree table, and Clearing and Grading rules get updated. We classify the tree on site.

Private trees (Development Services / Land Use, BCC 23.76). Bellevue requires a Clearing and Grading permit to remove a significant tree(generally 6 inches in diameter, measured four feet above existing grade) or a landmark tree(generally 24 inches, with a separate table of lower diameters for some slower-growing native species). A permit is still required even when you are inside the city’s annual residential allowance. Hazardous trees, as determined by a qualified tree professional, are not counted against that annual limit and usually do not trigger replacement — but they still need a permit and documentation.

In an emergency the city is clear: contact Land Use when possible, photograph the scene, have a qualified professional do the work, then apply for the tree-removal permit and be ready to show it was a real hazard. If staff cannot verify the hazard, replacement may be required and civil penalties can follow. We do not invent a dollar fine on this page. We also do not use “emergency” as a shortcut to take down a healthy tree.

Critical areas and shorelines (LUC 20.25H / 20.25E). Steep slopes, wetlands, streams, and lots within 50 feet of a shoreline (Enatai, Meydenbauer, Newport Shores, West Lake Sammamish) are not a normal Tree Removal Only permit. For a hazard tree in a critical area or buffer, Bellevue allows removal first if a qualified tree professional has documented an imminent threat that pruning cannot fix — then you notify the city on or before the day of the work and file the Clearing and Grading application within 14 days. Wildlife snags are preferred when they are actually safe. Mitigation planting is often still in play.

Street trees and right-of-way. The planting strip, the arterial, and city park trees are not yours to cut. Parks maintains more than 10,000 street trees; Transportation handles other ROW. Homeowners are not authorized to remove or prune city trees. In a true safety emergency, the city may allow removal before a ROW permit, then wants the permit filed (Transportation’s ROW procedures: within two business days of the removal). To report a ROW tree that looks unsafe, call Street Maintenance at (425) 452-7840. Park-property trees: (425) 452-6855. Call us for the private-property tree.

Bridle Trails. The old separate Bridle Trails tree rules are gone. The city now uses one set of significant/landmark rules citywide. Permits are still required.

Landmark trees. Only a Washington-licensed contractor may remove a landmark tree. We put our contractor registration on the permit before it issues.

Downed lines: utility first, then the tree

Puget Sound Energy is the electric utility in Bellevue, not Seattle City Light. PSE’s rule: assume every downed line is live. Stay at least 35 feet back. Call 911 for the line. Call 1-888-225-5773(1-888-CALL-PSE) to report it.

MTS Tree and Landscape does not handle live wires, does not move a line, and does not cut a tree that is still energizing a fence, a car, or standing water. Once PSE (or the 911 response) has made the electrical side safe, we take the wood.

If the tree is on your service drop but you are not sure it is de-energized, treat it as live. Call the utility. Then call us at (425) 369-8733 .

Insurance after a Bellevue storm

Photograph before anyone moves wood, if you can do it from a safe place. Then call us. Then call the insurer.

Homeowners policies often cover tree removal when a structure is damaged. They often do not cover a tree that fell in the yard and hit nothing. A tree on a car is usually auto, not homeowners. Deductibles, “act of God” language, and neighbor-tree disputes are between you and the carrier.

We can document what we found, what we removed, and why it was an emergency. We can write the arborist notes many adjusters ask for. We cannot promise they will pay, and we will not inflate the file.

Call (425) 369-8733 .

When it is not an emergency

If the tree is dead but standing, ugly, too close to the house, or “probably coming down someday,” that is planned work. Same for a crown that needs thinning before the next Pineapple Express, or a stump you want gone after last year’s removal.

• Planned large or hazardous removal: Bellevue tree removal
• Trimming and pruning: Bellevue tree trimming
• Stump grinding: Bellevue stump grinding

If you are standing in the yard at 2 a.m. arguing with yourself, call (425) 369-8733 . We will tell you if it can wait until daylight.

Neighborhoods we run in a storm

Downtown and Old Bellevue, Surrey Downs, Enatai, Meydenbauer, West Bellevue, Factoria, Eastgate, Lake Hills, Crossroads, BelRed, Wilburton, Somerset, Newport Hills, Newport Shores, Lakemont, Cougar Mountain, Bridle Trails, West Lake Sammamish, Phantom Lake, Woodridge, Robinswood. Tight lots next to high-rises, estate access on private drives, and hillside streets that will not take a chipper are normal Bellevue conditions for us.

If your street is not on that list, we still run Bellevue jobs. Call.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Bellevue permit if the tree already hit the house?

You can make an imminent failure safe. Land Use still wants the follow-up Clearing and Grading / tree-removal filing, with photos and a hazard write-up. Critical-area hazards also need notice the day of the work and an application within 14 days. Right-of-way trees go through Transportation, not the private-tree permit. We handle the emergency work and the paperwork. We do not skip the city because it was a Sunday.

The tree is on the wires. Who do I call?

911 for downed lines. Puget Sound Energy at 1-888-225-5773. Stay 35 feet back. Call MTS Tree and Landscape at (425) 369-8733 for the tree after the lines are safe. We do not cut live electrical.

Will my insurance pay?

Sometimes, when a structure is damaged. Often not, when the tree only hit the lawn. We document. We do not promise a check.

A bigleaf maple split in the wind but is still standing over the roof. Is that an emergency?

If it can still fail onto the house, a car, or the only exit, treat it as one. Do not wait to see if the next squall finishes it. Call (425) 369-8733 .

You are in Sammamish. Do you actually take Bellevue storm calls?

Yes. MTS Tree and Landscape is based at 4580 Klahanie Dr SE #261, Sammamish, WA 98029. Bellevue is a regular service city — downtown lots and Somerset hills included. Same phone, 24/7: (425) 369-8733 .

Sammamish-based. Bellevue is a normal week.

MTS Tree and Landscape runs King and Pierce County from Sammamish. We are not a Bellevue storefront, and we do not pretend to be. We are the crew that already knows Eastside access, Bellevue’s significant and landmark trees, when to stop for PSE, and when a “hazard” is really a planned removal.

24/7 phone. No web form required to start an emergency call.

Call (425) 369-8733 , email info@nwmts.com, or use the quote form once the site is safe.