The Pacific Northwest grows some of the tallest trees in the country next to some of the oldest housing stock, and windstorms bring the two together more often than most homeowners expect. Douglas fir and big-leaf maple can shed a limb — or come down entirely — in sustained high wind, especially once winter rain has saturated the soil around the roots. If it just happened to you, here’s the order of operations for the first few hours, before any repair work starts.
First: get everyone away from it
A tree resting against a house is often still under tension — a trunk or major limb bent or wedged against the structure can shift or drop further with no warning. Get everyone, including pets, out of the immediate area and away from any part of the house the tree is touching. Don’t go up on the roof, and don’t try to cut or move any part of the tree yourself. This is exactly the situation licensed arborists are equipped and trained to handle safely; a homeowner with a chainsaw is not.
Second: check for immediate hazards
Before you do anything else, look for the hazards that turn a property-damage event into a safety emergency:
- Downed power lines. If any wire is anywhere near the tree or the damage, treat it as live and stay well clear. Call the utility company, not just 911, if a line is down.
- Gas smell. A tree strike can rupture a gas line at the meter or an appliance connection. If you smell gas, leave the house and call the gas company from outside.
- Structural compromise. A tree through the roof or a wall can mean the structure above you is no longer fully supported. Don’t go back inside rooms directly under or near the damage until someone’s assessed it.
Third: stop water from getting in, if it’s safe to
If the tree opened a hole in the roof or wall and it’s raining, and you can do it safely from inside without going near the compromised area, a tarp over an interior opening (like inside an attic hatch, away from the hole itself) can slow water intrusion until a crew arrives to tarp the exterior breach properly. Don’t go on the roof or near an unstable section to do this. If there’s any doubt about safety, wait — a few more hours of water intrusion is less costly than a fall or a structural collapse.
Fourth: document before anything moves
Once everyone’s safe, photograph everything before the tree is removed or debris is cleared: the tree’s position against the house, the point of impact, visible damage to roofing, siding, or interior ceilings, and the surrounding yard. Insurance adjusters work from what’s documented at the time of loss, and it’s much harder to prove the extent of damage after the tree and debris are gone. If you can safely take wide shots from a distance as well as close-ups, do both.
Fifth: call your insurance carrier and a restoration contractor
Most standard homeowner policies cover a tree falling on a covered structure when wind or another covered peril caused it to fall — including a sublimit for the cost of removing the tree itself, separate from the structural repair coverage. Report the claim promptly and ask what your policy’s removal sublimit is; it varies by carrier.
Call a restoration contractor at the same time, not after the adjuster visits. The reason: emergency tarping and board-up are time-sensitive, and every additional hour of rain through an open roof compounds interior water damage that grows the claim. A contractor experienced with storm damage restoration coordinates the arborist for safe tree removal, tarps the breach as soon as conditions allow, and documents the damage in the format carriers expect — all as one continuous process rather than three separate calls you have to manage yourself.
What happens once the crew arrives
The sequence that actually resolves a tree strike, covered in more depth on our wind and tree damage repair page, generally runs:
- Arborist removal. A licensed arborist removes the tree or the hazardous remainder safely, particularly if it’s still under tension against the structure.
- Tarping and board-up. The roof or wall breach gets covered to stop further weather intrusion, done the same visit when conditions allow.
- Structural assessment. Framing, roof decking, and ceiling joists get inspected for damage that isn’t visible from the ground or from inside.
- Water mitigation. Any water that already got in during the interval before tarping is extracted and dried before it produces secondary damage like mold.
- Trade coordination and rebuild. Roofers, and occasionally a structural engineer for load-bearing damage, get scheduled alongside the reconstruction — drywall, framing, insulation, and finishes matched to the original.
What not to do
Don’t climb onto the roof to inspect the damage yourself. Don’t attempt to cut branches or move the trunk, even a section that looks manageable. Don’t let anyone back into rooms near the impact point until a professional has confirmed the structure is stable. And don’t assume the visible damage is the full extent — a tree strike routinely causes hidden framing damage and water intrusion beyond what’s obvious from the point of impact.
The takeaway
Safety first, hazards second, documentation third, then the calls. A tree coming down is sudden and disorienting, but the sequence that actually protects both your family and your insurance claim is straightforward: clear the area, check for gas and power hazards, photograph what you can safely reach, and get a restoration contractor and your carrier moving in parallel rather than waiting on one before starting the other.
Call TIK Construction at (360) 938-4601. A real person answers 24/7 and we coordinate the arborist, the tarping, and the rebuild as one job.