Call (425) 369-8733 — Seattle Storm & Emergency Tree Service
A Seattle wind event does not wait for a permit window. 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. Seattle is a normal service area, not a side trip.
This page is for storm damage and true emergencies only. A stable dead tree, a crown that needs thinning, or a planned backyard removal belongs on our Seattle tree removal or trimming pages.
Tree on the house, driveway, or car? Call (425) 369-8733 . 24/7 phone. We do not promise an arrival time; we tell you what we can do.
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 30 feet back, call 911 for downed lines, then Seattle City Light for the outage. MTS does not work live wires. We take the tree once the utility says the lines are safe.
- Private-property trees in Seattle fall under SDCI and SMC 25.11(Tier 1–4). Street trees in the planting strip are SDOT, not SDCI. Steep slopes, wetlands, creeks, and shorelines also follow SMC 25.09.
- You can make a failing tree safe. Follow-up filing with the city is often still required. We document the scene and help with the after-the-fact SDCI or SDOT paperwork.
- 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.
What To Do Right Now
- Get people and pets out of the rooms or yard the tree can still hit. If anyone is hurt or trapped, call 911.
- Stay back. A cracked fir on Queen Anne or a hung-up maple over a West Seattle roof can finish falling without warning. Do not stand under it to “check the damage.”
- If you see downed or sagging lines, or the tree is on a pole or service drop: stay at least 30 feet away. Call 911. Do not touch the tree, the fence, or standing water near it. Report the outage to Seattle City Light at (206) 684-3000. Call MTS after the lines are safe.
- 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 ask for this. Do not delay the safety call to stage a photoshoot.
- 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.
- 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 Seattle 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 Ballard living room beats a split alder that landed in a 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 30 to 50 feet wide, the drop zone is a roof, or the street on Capitol Hill or Magnolia 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, an arborist write-up when SDCI or SDOT wants one, and the after-the-fact Tree Removal and Vegetation Restoration filing (private trees) or SDOT street-tree paperwork. Seattle still wants the file after a true emergency.
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 Fremont garage is an emergency. A 70-foot fir you have been watching for two years is a planned removal, even if it makes you nervous.
Is It an Emergency?
| 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 | Seattle tree removal |
| Large or hazardous tree you want off before the next storm | No | Seattle tree removal |
| Clearance, shape, or storm-proofing a healthy crown | No | Seattle tree trimming |
| Stump left after the emergency wood is gone | After make-safe | Seattle 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 on this page.
For a tree that can wait, use Seattle tree removal services. Call (425) 369-8733 either way if you are not sure.
Seattle Emergency Rules, in Plain Language
This is a field guide, not a substitute for the code. Tiers, species lists, and Director’s Rules get updated. We classify the tree on site.
Private trees (SDCI, SMC 25.11)
Seattle uses four tiers, not the old “exceptional tree” label. Tier 1 is heritage / highest protection. Tier 2 is the large-tree bucket (often around 24 inches DSH, listed species, and groves) — that is usually what older blogs meant by “exceptional.” Tier 3 and Tier 4 are smaller regulated trees. An emergency action is for a tree with an extreme risk of imminent failure that is an immediate threat to people, a structure, or health and safety. You may make that tree safe without waiting for a pre-approval. SDCI still wants notice (SDCI-trees@seattle.gov or (206) 233-5185) and a Tree Removal and Vegetation Restoration application after the fact — the city’s current portal language is within ten calendar days (SMC 25.11.030). We do not use “emergency” as a shortcut to take down a healthy tree.
Street trees (SDOT)
The planting strip between sidewalk and curb is not an SDCI private-tree job. Homeowners generally cannot take a street tree down on their own. In a true imminent threat, notify SDOT’s 24-hour emergency dispatch at (206) 386-1218, then file the follow-up Street Use / city-arborist documentation. Replacement rules still apply unless SDOT waives them.
Environmentally critical areas (SMC 25.09)
Steep slopes, wetlands, streams, and shoreline lots — common on Queen Anne, Magnolia, West Seattle, and the lake edges — follow the ECA chapter. Tiers often do not apply the same way. You can still make a tree safe in a true emergency. Follow-up filing is still required.
Penalties
Unpermitted work is expensive. We do not invent a dollar fine on this page. We also do not skip the paperwork because it was windy.
Downed Lines: Utility First, Then the Tree
Seattle City Light is clear: assume every downed line is live. Stay at least 30 feet back. Call 911 for the line. Call (206) 684-3000 to report the outage.
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 SCL (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 Seattle 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: Seattle tree removal
- Trimming and pruning: Seattle tree trimming
- Stump grinding: Seattle 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
Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, Phinney Ridge, Green Lake, Queen Anne, Magnolia, Capitol Hill, Central District, Beacon Hill, Columbia City, Rainier Valley, West Seattle, Alki, Northgate, Lake City, Georgetown. Narrow lots, hills, alleys that will not take a chipper, and service drops over the only drop zone are normal Seattle conditions for us.
If your street is not on that list, we still run Seattle jobs. Call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Seattle permit if the tree already hit the house?
You can make an imminent failure safe. SDCI (private trees) or SDOT (street trees) still want the follow-up filing. We handle the emergency work and the paperwork. We do not skip SDCI because it was a Sunday.
The tree is on the wires. Who do I call?
911 for downed lines. Seattle City Light at (206) 684-3000 for the outage. Stay 30 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 Seattle storm calls?
Yes. MTS Tree and Landscape is based at 4580 Klahanie Dr SE #261, Sammamish, WA 98029. Seattle is a regular service area — Queen Anne hills and West Seattle lots included. Same phone, 24/7: (425) 369-8733.
Sammamish-Based. Seattle Is a Normal Week.
MTS Tree and Landscape runs King and Pierce County from Sammamish. We are not a Seattle storefront, and we do not pretend to be. We are the crew that already knows Eastside access and Seattle’s tighter lots, SDCI tiers, SDOT street trees, and when to stop for City Light.
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.
Service Areas:
King County, Sammamish, Issaquah, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Clyde Hill, Medina, Maple Valley, Newcastle, Woodinville, Redmond, Renton, Bothell, Seattle, Auburn, Tacoma, Federal Way, Covington, North Bend, Duvall