Storm Damaged Trees In Oxford
When a storm hits Oxford and leaves trees split, uprooted or hanging over your property, the priority is getting the situation made safe as quickly as possible by people who know what they are doing.
JW Tree Surgery responds to storm damaged trees throughout Oxford and the neighbouring areas, and as fully qualified Tree Surgeons, we have the equipment, experience and insurance to deal with storm damage safely and efficiently.
Dealing With Storm Damaged Trees: Start With Safety
The first and most important thing to do after a storm has damaged a tree on your property is to assess the situation from a safe distance before going anywhere near it. Trees that have been partially uprooted, split through the trunk or had large branches torn away are under significant and unpredictable mechanical tension.
A trunk that is leaning against a fence or a branch that appears to be resting quietly on a roof can shift suddenly, and what looks like a stable situation can change in an instant.
Keep people and pets away from any tree that has visibly moved, split or has significant hanging material in the canopy. If a tree or large branch has come into contact with overhead power lines, do not approach it under any circumstances and contact your electricity provider immediately before calling us.
Once the immediate area is clear of people, photograph the damage from a safe distance, these images will be important if you intend to make an insurance claim.
Types Of Storm Damage We Deal With
The most common scenarios we attend are fallen trees that have come down across lawns, fences, driveways or structures; partially uprooted trees that are leaning at a dangerous angle; major limbs that have split from the main trunk and are suspended in the canopy or resting on property below; and trees whose canopy has been torn and reshaped by the wind, leaving jagged, splintered branch ends that present an ongoing hazard.
Each of these requires a different approach. A fallen tree in an open lawn is very different from a partially split tree that is wedged against a property. We assess the specific situation when we arrive, plan the safest method of dealing with it and work methodically through the job to make everything safe before beginning the clearance work.
Hanging / Suspended Branches
One of the most dangerous consequences of storm damage is material that is suspended in the canopy rather than on the ground. Branches that have been torn but not fully detached, limbs that have broken and lodged against other branches, and sections of crown that are hanging by fibres of wood rather than a sound structural connection are collectively known as widow makers for good reason. They can fall without warning and with considerable force.
Removing suspended material safely requires the right approach and the right equipment. Working beneath a hanging branch with a chainsaw from the ground is not the correct method.
Our approach to suspended material involves assessing the tension and load of the hanging sections, planning a safe sequence of removal that avoids placing anyone beneath unsupported material, and bringing the hanging branches down in a controlled manner.
When A Damaged Tree Can Be Saved..
Not every tree that suffers storm damage needs to be removed. Whether a tree can be retained depends on what has happened to it, the species, its age and condition, and the proportion of the crown that has been lost or damaged.
A tree that has lost a significant limb but retains the majority of its crown and has a sound, undamaged root system and trunk may well recover well from the loss, particularly if the damaged area is dealt with cleanly.
Where a tree has suffered a clean break at a major limb junction, the wound can often be managed to reduce the risk of decay entering the tree.
Where the trunk itself has split, the structural integrity of the tree is more fundamentally compromised, and removal is more likely to be the only safe option.
Remedial Pruning After Storm Damage
Where a tree has suffered damage but can be retained, remedial pruning is the process of dealing with the aftermath in a way that gives the tree the best chance of long-term recovery.
This typically involves removing any hanging or suspended material, cutting back broken branch ends cleanly to the next sound growth point, removing any splintered or torn wood that would provide an entry point for disease, and assessing whether any structural bracing or cabling is appropriate to support weakened areas of the canopy.
Remedial work is generally carried out in two stages: an immediate visit to make the tree safe, followed by a more considered assessment of what longer-term management the tree will need once the acute situation has been resolved. We will advise on both stages during our initial visit.
Documenting Storm Damage For Insurance
If a tree has fallen and caused damage to your property, your buildings insurance may cover the cost of removing the tree and making the property good, depending on your specific policy and the circumstances.
The most important thing you can do before any clearance work begins is to photograph the damage thoroughly from multiple angles (as long as it is safe to do so), capturing the tree, where it has come to rest, the damage it has caused to any structures, and the overall scene.
This photographic record supports any subsequent insurance claim and provides evidence that the work carried out was a response to actual storm damage rather than routine tree surgery.