The Pacific Northwest, including the Portland area, is home to some of the biggest and most beautiful trees around! But unfortunately, the area is also prone to severe weather, including heavy winds, ice storms, and months and months of drizzly rain. The combination of extreme weather and large trees can lead to big problems.

In today’s post, we’ll explain what you should do if a tree falls on your Portland home.

Let’s get started.

1. Be Safe & Contact Emergency Services

If a tree falls on your home, your first priority is to protect yourself and your family. Remember that your house can be repaired and your property can be replaced. But the safety and health of your loved ones is priceless.

So if a tree falls on your house, make sure everyone is safe. If anyone needs medical attention, don’t hesitate to call 911. If the tree brought down power lines as it fell, if you see fire or smell smoke, call the fire department right away! You’ll be glad you did.

2. Turn Off The Power & Gas In Your Home

If there’s no immediate danger and you know how to; turn off the power and gas in your home. It’s a precautionary measure that could stop a fire from starting if the tree damaged a gas line as it fell.

3. Call The Electric Company

Many times, when a large tree falls, it damages power lines which can cause an outage in your area. You should call the power company to alert them of any damage to power lines or power outages caused by the downed tree.

For reference here are contact numbers for Portland area utility companies:

• Pacific Power – (877) 508-5088
• PGE – (800) 544-1795

You can call and report downed power lines, power outages, and unsafe conditions.

4. Contact Your Home Insurance Agent

Once everyone is safe and the authorities have been notified, call your home insurance agent. They can help you decide what steps to take next and can help you understand what might or might not be covered by your homeowner’s policy.

An insurance assessor will likely come out to your home to inspect the damage before processing your claim. In some cases, you may be able to email pictures of the damage to your insurance agent to speed up the process.

5. Get The Tree Removed & Other Trees Inspected

Next, you’ll need to have the tree removed by a trusted and experienced large tree removal company, like the team here at Northwest Arbor Culture. We’re happy to come out to your home and offer you a free, no-obligation estimate. We can remove large trees and can even grind up and haul away the stump that’s still in the ground.

In most cases, you’ll also want to have other trees on your property inspected as well. The saying “lightning doesn’t strike twice” doesn’t apply to falling trees! Changing soil conditions, tree diseases, and other factors can cause multiple trees to be more likely to fall in your yard. You’ll also want to pay close attention to any trees that might be near your property line and that might fall on your neighbor’s home or yard.

Do not try to remove the tree yourself. Fallen trees are dangerous– especially if they are leaning on your house. Trees can weigh THOUSANDS of pounds and the root ball can act as a counterweight, causing the trunk of the tree to spring back if it is cut free.

For your safety, leave this job to an experienced, certified, licensed, and insured professional.

6. Roof Inspection & Repair

After the tree has been removed, you’ll need to find a trusted local roofing contractor to inspect and repair your roof. Depending on the extent of the damage, a partial roof replacement might be required– and might even be covered by your homeowner’s insurance policy.

Even if there isn’t visible roof damage, your roof should still be inspected. There may be damage under the shingles that could lead to roof leaks later on down the road.

7. Home & Foundation Inspection

Finally, you’ll want to have your home and foundation inspected– especially if you see cracks or splits in the foundation. When a tree falls, the extremely large root ball moves as well. This movement can cause damage to the foundation that you might not notice right away. But over time, this can damage the structure of your house or allow moisture and leaks.

A thorough home inspection can identify problems like these and can help you rest a little easier.

Answers To Your Questions

“What If My Neighbor’s Tree Falls On My House?”

Generally speaking, when it comes to insurance, your policy pays for damage to your property, no matter whose tree it was. In other words, if a tree falls on your house, contact your insurance company.

“What If My Tree Falls On My Neighbor’s House?”

It’s likely that you will only be liable if you were negligent about the condition of the tree. You can protect yourself by having the trees on your property inspected, trimmed, and if necessary, removed.

“What If a Tree Falls On A Shared Fence or Property Line?”

The best case scenario is that you get along well with your neighbors and can split the cost of removing the tree and repairing the fence! Both parties involved can contact their insurance companies and let them decide how to handle things.

“How Can I Tell If A Tree Might Fall?”

Dead trees are most at risk for falling. Disease, severe weather, and other factors can also increase the likelihood that a tree will fall. But only the assistance and trained eye of an experienced tree care professional can help you understand whether a tree is likely to come crashing down.

“I’m About To Buy A House. Are The Current Owners Liable For The Trees?”

If you’re thinking about buying a home in the Portland area, please take the time to have the trees inspected before you make the biggest purchase of your life! A pre-purchase tree inspection can save you thousands down the road– not to mention a lot of headaches.

Do You Need Help With A Tree On Your Property?

If you’re worried that a tree on your property might fall and damage your home, contact Northwest Arbor Culture today. We can inspect your trees and offer our expert advice based on decades of experience as Certified Arborists.

We’re here to help you!

Photo Credits: TheTurducken, slgckgc, John Whitlock, Phil Denton, pml2008, Wayne Truong, David Ensor, Stig Andersen

Having a big tree in your front yard is great… most of the time. Trees look nice, increase your home’s value, and provide shade, keeping your yard cooler in the summer. When fall comes around, it’s a different story.

Raking leaves is tiring, and keeping your property leaf-free can be a process lasting several months, depending on the tree. Most people don’t look forward to it. Maybe that’s why not raking the lawn is a growing trend.

Many people say it’s actually better for your lawn to not rake leaves. Are they right?

Pros and Cons of Raking Leaves

There’s good and bad on both sides.

For most people, the biggest benefit of raking leaves is the overall improvement to the appearance of their yard. Not to mention the fun of being able to jump into a freshly raked pile.

The biggest drawback for most homeowners is that it’s a lot of work. If you have a big yard and big trees, you may have to invest a couple of hours every weekend for a few months just to stay on top of it.

Other people say leaving a layer of fallen leaves suffocates the lawn and kills the grass. There’s quite a bit of evidence to the contrary, but if you really want to do what’s best for your lawn, you probably have better options than simply leaving your leaves untouched.

What Should You Do With Your Leaves?

Whether or not you rake your leaves really depends on a variety of factors, like where you live, how much work you want to put into leaf-control, and what you want your yard to look like.

Here are a few options to consider:

Leave Them Alone

Leaving fallen leaves usually won’t damage your lawn — unless you have a LOT of leaves or you get heavy snow in the winter where you live. That might stop your lawn from getting the natural light and fresh air it needs to survive.

For most people, leaving leaves alone is a viable option.

Some neighborhood associations may want you to remove all your leaves to keep your lawn looking pristine. If that’s your situation, keep reading.

Compost Them

Did you know that even fallen leaves contain important minerals that are great for your soil and other plants? When you compost your leaves, you can get a healthier yard and find a use for all those leaves that would otherwise go to waste!

Want to try it?

Use a lawn sweeper or rake leaves into a pile somewhere out of the way, like the backyard. If you’re fine having the pile their for a while, you’re done! But if you want to encourage leaves to break down a little faster, try one of these tips:

• Grind or shred your leaves.
• Mix leaves with manure or another nitrogen rich material.
• Turn the heap regularly — anywhere from every 3 weeks to every 3 days.

Turning leaves more often encourages them to break down faster.

For more composting tips and the best way to grind your leaves, check out this article from compostguide.com.

Once the leaves are broken down you can use them as mulch for your lawn. It’s great for grass and other plants!

Leaf Pick Up

Many cities have programs for collecting leaves. The city will compost them for you! In Portland, where we’re located, leaf day pickups happen from early November to mid-December.

If you’re in Portland, you can participate in a leaf day pickup by checking what day the leaf truck will come through your neighborhood. You can find that out on their website when it gets closer to leaf pickup time, or call (503-865-5323) or email the city.

Before your pickup day, rake or sweep your leaves into the street 12 inches from the curb and make sure you move your car. Here are some other recommendations from the City of Portland.

Don’t live in Portland? Check your city’s official website to find out if your area has a yearly leaf pickup.

What if it’s Rainy?

Here in Portland, rain in the fall is pretty common. Unfortunately. that makes it much harder to do anything useful with your leaves. The good news is heavy rain might make your leaves naturally biodegrade faster.

Even if you do plan to eventually rake or compost them, it’s fine to leave them until they dry out a bit.

Soggy leaves can be slippery, though. So try to at least get them off paths, sidewalks, and driveways. You can try using a rake or even a shovel with a flat head like a scoop shovel or a scraper.

What About Leaf Blowing?

Leaf blowing is great for moving dry leaves off paths, driveways, and sidewalk quickly and easily. It that’s all you want to do, it might be worth investing in a leaf blower.

The thing about leaf blowers is they just move leaves around rather than getting rid of them. They’re less precise than a rake or lawn sweeper, so they’re not great for getting leaves exactly where you want them, like in a pile.

If you want to actually get rid of leaves or compost them, you’re better off with a good rake or lawn sweeper and maybe a shovel to get leaves off concrete and asphalt.

Conclusion

I hope this post helped you find the best method for dealing with your fallen leaves this year. Regular tree pruning can reduce the number of leaves you have to deal with. If you want some free pruning advice give us a call at (503) 538-8733.

Do you have other solutions for dealing with leaves in the fall? Share them in the comments!

Photos: Andy Eick, Eden, Janine and Jim, Jeremy Noble, Derek Hatfield

Photo: Loren Kerns

Oregon is known for its abundance of trees, but do you know Oregon’s state tree? Who owns our forests? Which trees are native to Oregon?

Get ready for some tree trivia as well as some important tree safety advice for winter! I’ll even give you some tips for planting trees that grow well in Oregon.

A History of Oregon’s Forest

Ever since Lewis and Clark reached the mouth of the Columbia River in 1805, people have poured into Oregon, drawn by its forests and natural beauty. And it’s still happening today. Believe it or not, Oregon is the most popular moving destination in the country.

The influx of people over time meant more cities, highways, and infrastructure. Oregon also developed a huge timber industry, which is still going strong today. Despite all that, Oregon still has almost 92% of the forests that covered the state in 1850. Not bad!

That’s not a coincidence though. Private landowners cooperate with both federal and state governments to preserve Oregon forests. Among other strategies, that includes replanting, restrictions on clearcutting, and avoiding and managing occasional forest fires.  

Oregon’s Famous Trees

Oregon has a few famous trees to its name. How much do you know about the state’s most quintessentially Oregonian celebrities?

Oregon’s State Tree

Our state tree is the Douglas fir, an evergreen tree with pine needles and cones. The tree is named after botanist-explorer, David Douglas, who described it as “one of the most striking and truly graceful objects in nature.” Now that’s a glowing review!

Oregon’s Largest Tree

There is some debate about which tree is truly Oregon’s largest. It used to be a 206-foot-tall Sitka Spruce along the coast near Seaside, Oregon. In December 2007, a wind storm snapped the 700-year-old tree in half. You can still visit the 17-foot diameter trunk, though.

Here’s where the controversy starts. Officially, the largest tree is now a 329-foot-tall Douglas fir in Coos County (pictured below), but non-profit tree workers say they’ve found an even bigger Arcadia Cedar just outside of Cannon Beach.

The Octopus Tree

Without a doubt, one of Oregon’s weirdest-looking trees is a different giant Sitka spruce in Cape Meares, Oregon. Its nickname, the Octopus Tree, isn’t hard to figure out. The tree’s multiple trunks grow out of its base like giant tentacles.

The tree has historical significance too. Experts believe it was once a gathering site for Native American tribes in Tillamook, and place of reverence where elders made decisions and shamans performed ceremonies.

Who Owns Oregon’s Forests?

The majority of Oregon’s forested land belongs to the federal government, but not all of it. Here’s the breakdown:

60% – federal government

35% – private ownership

3% – the State of Oregon

1% – tribe lands

1% – other public ownerships

Oregon Tree Safety

In general, trees make Oregon healthier and safer by purifying the air and casting shade from the sun. Trees don’t come without risks though. Western Oregon in particular often has heavy rains and strong winds (like the ones that ultimately knocked down the Sitka Spruce near Seaside). In years like this one, we also get extremely dry summers, which puts us at risk for forest fires.

Preventing Forest Fires

Fires are a natural part of a forest’s cycle, but most of Oregon’s fires are human-caused, and therefore preventable. Some of the biggest culprits are cigarettes, gas leaking from cars, and fireworks too close to forested areas. Campfires are a big one too. According to OregonForests.org, there are several steps you can take to make sure your campfire is safe:

• Keep your fire at a manageable size.
• Never leave a campfire unattended.
• Always have a large bucket of water nearby.
• Let the wood burn completely to ash.
• Dowse your campfire with water until the steaming and hissing stops.
• Cover all embers, not just the red ones.
• Stir to make sure everything is wet and cold to the touch. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
• Check again for any remaining hot spots. Dowse with more water if needed.
• Use dirt when there is no water available. Mix enough dirt into the embers until everything is cool but do not bury the fire.

Try this next time you go camping to be extra safe.

Protect Yourself From Falling Trees

When wind, rain, and heavy snow hits, weaker trees are at risk of falling. Look for tree branches near your house or power lines, and get them pruned or trimmed.

The number one thing you can do to make sure none of your trees fall on people or property is to get them inspected before harsh winter weather arrives. We’re always happy to swing by and give you some free expert advice about your trees.

What Trees Grow Best in Oregon?

Did you know fall is one of the best times to plant new trees? If you’re looking for a tree that will flourish in Oregon and won’t require an unnecessary amount of maintenance, planting a tree that’s native to Oregon is a good bet.

Photo: Alex Indigo

Many dogwoods, maples, and evergreens are perfectly suited to the Pacific Northwestern climate.

For more detailed information on what to plant and how, check out these tips from the Portland Nursery. Or see this longer list of native Oregon plants

Questions?

Still have questions about Oregon’s forests, which trees to plant, or how to keep your property safe this winter?

Call us anytime at 503-538-8733 for free, no-pressure advice.

Photos: Doug Kerr, Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington, Alicia Mueller,

Yet a tree can be greatly affected by even the slightest change. You can read our previous post, Why Is My Tree Dying?, to learn about how overwatering, improper transplanting, and even slight changes in the soil can injure and even kill a tree.

When a tree is affected by certain ailments and is in close proximity to cars, property, and people, it can become a serious hazard.

Keep reading to learn some of the most common tree hazards to look out for, as well as what you can do to help protect yourself and your property from tree damage.

First, let’s learn what defines a hazardous tree.

What Makes a Tree Hazardous

The USDA Forest Service defines a “hazard tree” as “a tree with structural defects likely to cause failure of all or part of the tree.” But a tree does not truly become a hazard until it threatens the safety of a person, property, roadway, or location where people gather like a park, pathway, or backyard.

If a tree is located in a forest or habitat preserve, it is natural for a tree to slowly degrade and eventually fall.

It is when a tree is posing an immediate threat to people, property, or public spaces that it should be considered a ‘hazard tree’ and dealt with appropriately.

Tree Hazards To Look For

There are several common warning signs for a hazard tree. While some are easier to spot than others, it is likely that a hazard tree will show one or more of the following signs.

Dead Wood

Dead branches and sections of a tree are hazards that should be dealt with promptly. Dead wood can be dislodged by wind, animals, or just fall unexpectedly and cause extensive harm to whatever it falls upon.

When a dead branch separates from the tree but is caught in the canopy, it is often called a “widowmaker.” These are at a very high risk to fall unexpectedly on something or someone.

Dead branches should be trimmed or removed as soon as possible to prevent any damage from falling.

Cracks

Some species of trees, like Douglas Fir, develop cracks naturally. But usually when you notice cracks or split wood on your tree, it may be a sign of failing tree health.

Depending upon how large the tree and how serious the crack, cabling may be an option, or you may be forced to remove the entire tree. Especially if the crack extends deep within or completely through the trunk.

Weak Branch Unions

A weak branch connection can occur naturally or due to improper pruning. You can identify a weak union when there is bark that is growing into and between to connected branches.

This is especially hazardous if the weak union is between two main branches or is leading to cracking between the two affected branches.

Decay

Sometimes trees can experience small amounts of rot and decay and still remain healthy and strong. However, when you notice that the tree is beginning to feel spongy, crumbly, or growing a cavity, you may need to remove the tree. Other signs of tree decay are mushrooms or brackets growing on the trunk, flare, or exposed roots of a tree.

Cankers

Cankers are open sores or dead tissues on the outside of a tree. While the presence of cankers may not spell the end for your tree, if a canker grows large enough that it affects “more than half of the tree’s circumference” or is connected with a crack or cavity, you should thoroughly inspect your tree.

Root Problems

While it may be difficult to detect root problems that are located underground, there are certain activities that can be closely related with root damages in a tree.

Severing roots when installing irrigation lines or sewers can greatly decrease a tree’s stability and even lead to tree death. Paving concrete over tree roots can cut off oxygen and nutrient supply and in turn affect the tree’s roots and overall stability. Parking vehicles or equipment on tree roots can compact soil and injure roots. Also, simply changing to the soil grade more that 2-3 inches can injure tree roots.

Generally when a tree becomes unstable, you can notice mounds or bulging in the soil at the base of tree indicating the displacement of soil caused by the leaning of a tree. This is an important indicator that your tree needs corrective help or removal soon.

So what corrective actions can you take to secure or save a tree that may be at risk of failing?

Corrective Measures

Tree pruning and removing any problem sections or branches can easily eliminate the problem, especially when the rest of the tree is sound.

Move the property at risk. If the vehicle, structure, or property can be easily moved from the area in danger, you can ensure its safety without removing the tree.

Cabling or bracing a tree won’t fix the tree’s health issues, but may extend the life of a tree. Cabling a tree involves adding a steel or synthetic cable that actually wraps around a tree and its branches, securing them together and providing a failsafe in case part of that tree fails. A brace is used when a tree is split or cracking. You brace a tree by actually drilling a hole through the entire width of the affected area, inserting a steel rod, and syncing up the tree on both ends of the rod to clamp the two separate pieces together. Cabling and bracing are very complicated and difficult techniques that should only be undertaken by a trained ISA-certified arborist.

Tree removal should always be the last resort. Removing trees can be dangerous and even reduce the value of your property. Make sure that if you decide to remove your tree, you hire a certified arborist who can get the job done safely without affecting any trees or property surrounding the tree.

Have you ever had experiences of hazardous branches or trees falling on your property? Please tell us about your experience in the comments section.

Sources:

• U.S. Forest Service – Identifying Tree Hazards
• Wikipedia – What Is a Canker?
• How to Recognize and Prevent Tree Hazards