East Texas gets ice the way the Gulf coast gets hurricanes: not every year, but hard when it comes. Freezing rain coats a loblolly pine's needles and a pecan's fine branches, the weight climbs by the hour, and somewhere in the second night the limbs start to go. February 2021 is the storm people around Tyler still measure by, two nights of cracking across Smith County and pines down on roofs from the Azalea District to the lake lots. The pattern repeats on a smaller scale most winters, and the same order of operations applies every time.
Why pines and pecans go first
Loblolly and shortleaf pines on the sandy soils south and east of town carry long, flexible limbs that hold ice like a shelf, and their shallow root plates let the whole tree go over once the ground is saturated. Pecans and water oaks in the older neighborhoods have brittle wood and wide crowns, so they shed big limbs rather than fall whole. Post oaks are the tough ones, and even they drop deadwood. A tree that was already leaning or hollow before the ice is the one most likely to be on the house afterwards.
First hour
- Everyone out from under it, and nobody on the roof.
- A line involved: call Oncor at 1-888-313-4747 and touch nothing until the utility has cleared its side.
- Photograph the tree, the roof and the ceiling inside before anything moves; that is the claim.
Who removes it
A tree on a structure is roped down in sections, not felled, and it is priced as emergency work at 50 to 100 percent over daytime rates. After an ice storm every crew in East Texas is booked for a week or more, so the call the same morning matters, and trees on houses, cars and driveways are dispatched first. Once the weight is off, the opening is tarped so the house is protected until the roofer comes.
Insurance and debris
Removal off a covered structure is usually claimable; a yard tree that hit nothing usually is not, apart from a small debris allowance on some policies. Keep the written estimate and the invoice with the photos. For the debris, the city clears fallen trees off public streets, collects limbs bundled under 4 feet and 50 pounds free at the curb, and takes bulk brush as a paid special collection by request from $20, stacked in its own pile. We chip and haul what will not wait.
Before the next one
The cheapest ice-storm job is the one done in October. A crown thinned so wind and ice pass through, deadwood taken off the pecans, a leaning pine on the south side of the house looked at while it is still a scheduled removal and not an emergency one. The written estimate says which trees are worth the work and which are not.
Useful links
- City of Tyler: bulky items and brush collection – what goes free at the curb and what is a paid pickup
- Texas A&M Forest Service: Texas Forest Info – East Texas tree species, oak wilt and pest information
Questions on this
Does insurance cover tree removal in Texas?
Usually only when the tree damaged a covered structure such as the house, a fence or a detached garage. A tree that fell in the yard and hit nothing is normally the owner's cost.
What does emergency tree removal cost in Tyler?
A tree on a structure comes down in sections: $2,500 to $6,000 by size and what is under it, and ice-storm nights run 50 to 100 percent over daytime rates. The price is written before any cutting.
Will Tyler pick up my broken limbs?
Limbs bundled under 4 feet and 50 pounds are collected free at the curb. Bulk brush is a paid special collection by request, from $20, in its own pile; the city's bulky items page linked below has the rules.
Should I cut the pine off the roof myself?
No. A trunk on a roof is under load and can roll or spring when a cut releases it. Have a crew covered for work over a roof section it off, and tarp the hole afterwards.