Storm and emergency tree removal in Rome

After a hard blow, the first jobs are the ones nobody should do alone: a trunk resting on a roof, a split top still hanging in the crown, a tree lying across the line to the house. Get people clear, then sort the work by danger.

The first hour

1. Treat every wire as live.Georgia Power says to contact it right away if a fallen tree is touching a power line, and that no one should climb trees near lines. North Georgia EMC members call NGEMC.
2. Stay out from under hangers.A broken limb caught in the crown can drop without warning. Mark the area and keep children and pets away.
3. Photograph the damage.Pictures of the tree, the roof and the yard help when a contractor quotes and when you talk to an insurer.
4. Then call for a price.Say whether the tree is on a structure, blocking a drive or touching a wire, so the contractor brings the right gear.

Storms on record here

Wind, not ice, is behind the local reports found for this page. In April 2011 the National Weather Service tied damage in southern Rome to straight-line winds near 80 mph: 50 to 100 trees down and about a dozen homes hit, three badly. A National Weather Service survey confirmed an EF0 tornado with 75 mph winds near Cave Spring on March 14, 2019, uprooting and snapping trees along Booger Hollow Road. And on May 1, 2025, Rome police reported trees knocked onto roads and power lines, with damage along Riverside Parkway near the Celanese area.

What emergency work costs

Angi says emergency removals carry a premium and can reach $5,000. On the other end, clearing a tree that's already on the ground runs $75 to $150 in its national figures, and an uprooted tree $300 to $500.

Who cleans up what

• Utility rights-of-way: Georgia Power says its routine trimming debris is removed promptly, but storm debris cleanup belongs to the property owner.
• Inside Rome: limbs you cut yourself go out for the grabber truck within the city's limits (under 500 pounds and 4 cubic yards, no piece over 8 feet or 200 pounds). The city won't take debris left by contractors.
• Unincorporated Floyd County: request a pickup from Public Works at (706) 236-2495; fees start above 3 cubic yards.
• Burning: the Georgia Forestry Commission requires a permit or notification for vegetative storm debris (1-800-GA-TREES).

The Forestry Commission's storm page also tells homeowners to find out how their local government will handle debris, including whether it should go to the curb.