Emergency & Storm Damage Tree Service
A tree came down on the house, the driveway, or the fence. Call and describe what happened. Emergency work is prioritized by hazard, and we document everything your insurance company is going to ask for.
Sylvan Scapes handles emergency and storm damage tree work across Staunton, Waynesboro, Augusta County and Albemarle County, VA: trees on structures, split trunks, hanging limbs and blocked access. Damage is photographed and documented for insurance claims before anything is moved. Call 540-885-2199 and describe the situation.
When it cannot wait until next week
Not every downed tree is an emergency. A trunk across the back pasture can wait. These cannot:
- A tree or limb resting on the roof, deck, or a vehicle
- A hanging limb over a driveway, walkway or play area
- A split or cracked trunk still standing
- A tree leaning noticeably more than it was yesterday, with lifted soil at the base
- Anything in contact with a service line
- A tree blocking the only way in or out
If a tree is on a power line, call the utility first. We do not touch energized lines, and neither should anyone else who shows up at your door.
What we do on arrival
Three things, in this order.
Secure what is hanging, take weight off what is loaded, and get hazards away from where people are. Removal comes second.
Before anything moves, the damage gets photographed from the angles an adjuster will want, with notes on what failed and why. Homeowners lose money on storm claims for lack of documentation more often than for lack of coverage.
If a tree is blocking your driveway or the road in, that gets cut and moved before the rest of the work is scheduled.
The trees still standing are the ones to worry about
After a bad wind event the trees that came down are obvious. The dangerous ones are the trees that partially failed and are still upright: a cracked union, a lifted root plate, a hanger caught in the canopy that will come down on its own schedule.
An arborist assessment after a storm catches those. It is a short visit, and it is the difference between handling a problem on a Tuesday and handling it at 2 a.m. during the next storm.
- Certification
- ISA Certified Arborist, International Society of Arboriculture
- Accreditation
- Tree Care Safety Professional (CTSP), Tree Care Industry Association
- Safety standard
- Work performed within ANSI Z133.1 arboriculture safety requirements
- Pruning standard
- ANSI A300 pruning specifications
- Operating since
- 2003, Staunton, Virginia
- Service area
- Augusta, Albemarle and Rockingham Counties
How Sylvan Scapes runs a job
The same four steps on every job, from a single dead maple to a full property assessment.
The owner walks the property
Kevin Thompson looks at every tree in question from the ground up: species, structure, defects, and what sits underneath it. Not a salesperson, not a photo texted from the road.
Written estimate
A written scope within a few days. What comes down, what stays, and what it costs. No verbal numbers that change on job day.
The work, done to standard
Crews work inside ANSI Z133.1. The rigging plan is set before anyone leaves the ground, and records are kept on every job.
Site left clean
Brush chipped, wood cut to length or hauled, ruts repaired, lawn raked. The yard looks like we were never there, minus the tree.
Storm damage right now?
Call (540) 885-2199 and describe what happened. Hazard calls go to the front of the line.
Storm and emergency questions
What homeowners ask us in the hours after a storm.
Call 540-885-2199