The right first call after a tree comes down is decided by danger and jurisdiction, not by who owns a chainsaw. Dial 911 first if someone is injured, pinned, or inside a room the tree is pressing on. Then the electric utility, with everyone kept well clear, if any wire may be in play — including the low ones, because a communications line can be energised by contact with a conductor above it, and an outage does not mean a line is dead. Call the town or city highway department if a public street is blocked, or the Vermont Agency of Transportation district on a numbered route; a private crew has no authority to close a lane. A trunk in the sidewalk planting strip is a municipal shade tree and belongs with the tree warden. Only once those are excluded is it a tree-service call, and material already on the ground can usually wait for a scheduled visit.
Danger first, then electricity, then jurisdiction
- 2. Downed line or tree touching electrical equipment: contact the utility and stay away.
- 3. Public street, sidewalk or municipal tree: contact the municipality or City Arborist.
- 4. Private driveway or private structure with no electrical contact: request qualified tree-service assessment.
- 5. Document damage only from a safe place and contact your insurer without assuming coverage.
One call, sorted by situation
Four calls to the wrong places is slower than one to the right one. Sort by danger first, then electrical, then public road, then private property.
| Situation | First call | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone injured or trapped | 911 | Nothing else takes precedence |
| Wire down, or tree touching electrical equipment | Electric utility | Only qualified personnel may work near conductors |
| Tree across a town or city street | Town or city highway department | A private crew cannot close a public lane |
| Tree across a numbered highway | VTrans district | State highways are the state's responsibility |
| Tree in the sidewalk planting strip | Municipality's tree warden | Public shade trees are municipal |
| Tree on your house, nobody hurt | Tree service | Leave the affected rooms first |
| Tree on a shared private road | Neighbours, per the road agreement | The town will not come to a private way |
| Tree on a fence or in the yard | Tree service, scheduled | Photograph it before anything moves |
Submitting a form on this website does not contact 911, a municipality or a utility.
Details that route the call correctly
The first call is decided by who has authority over the situation, not by who can cut the tree — so the useful details are about jurisdiction and danger.
- Whether anyone is hurt, trapped or displaced
- Whether any wire is involved, however low
- Whether the blockage is a public road or a private way
- Which municipality the address is actually in
- Whether the tree is bearing on an occupied structure
Calls we cannot make for you
We cannot dispatch emergency services, close a road, or de-energise a line. Those authorities have to be contacted directly, and hiring a private crew does not substitute for any of them.
12 questions this raises
A tree is on my house. What is the actual first call?+
911 if anyone is hurt, trapped, or in a room the tree is bearing on. Otherwise leave the affected rooms, get everyone outside the possible fall area, and call a tree service. Do not go up on the roof, and do not go into the rooms underneath to move things — a tree resting on a structure is holding load, and walking under it can release it.
A tree fell across the road. Who do I call?+
The road authority, and which one depends on the road. In a town or city it is the public works or highway department; on a state highway it is the Vermont Agency of Transportation district. If lines came down with it, call the electric utility too and treat every wire as live. A private crew has no authority to close a lane and hiring one does not make the road safe sooner.
How do I tell whether a road is state or town?+
Route-numbered highways are generally the state's; the residential street outside your house is generally the town's. If you are not sure, call the town — they will either handle it or tell you who does, and that call is faster than working it out from a map. Reporting it to the wrong authority costs a phone call; not reporting it costs more.
What if I do not know whether a wire is a power line?+
Assume it is, and stay away. Telecommunications and cable lines run on the same poles at lower heights, and telling them apart from the ground is unreliable — a downed communications line can also be energised by contact with a power conductor above it. Keep everyone back, keep vehicles away, and let the utility identify it.
The tree only hit my fence and my garden. Who deals with that?+
You do, and it is not an emergency. Material on the ground that is not over a road, not on a structure and not near wires can wait for a scheduled visit, which will be cheaper and better planned than an emergency callout. Photograph it before it moves in case there is an insurance question, then get a normal estimate.
It is my neighbour's tree that fell on my house. Whose problem is it?+
Broadly, material that ends up on your land becomes yours to deal with, which strikes most people as backwards. Liability usually only shifts if the neighbour knew the tree was defective and did nothing — a question of prior notice, not of where the trunk grew. If you had raised a concern in writing before, keep that record.
Do I call my insurer before or after the tree is removed?+
Photograph first, then call the insurer, then remove what is dangerous. Policies expect you to prevent further damage, so waiting days for an adjuster while a tree sits on an open roof usually makes the claim worse. Do the minimum needed to make the site safe, keep the emergency work as a separate line on the invoice, and keep the photographs.
A tree is blocking my driveway but nothing else. Is that urgent?+
It depends who needs to get out. If someone in the house has a medical need, or a vehicle has to leave, treat it as urgent. If it is an inconvenience, it is a scheduled job — and after a widespread storm it will sit behind trees on houses and blocked public roads, which is the correct ordering even though it is frustrating.
Who is responsible for a tree in the strip between sidewalk and curb?+
Almost always the municipality. That planting strip is normally within the public right-of-way and its trees are public shade trees under the town or city's tree warden. Report a problem there rather than hiring a crew, because arranging work on a public tree without authority creates a liability you did not previously have.
The tree came down on a shared private road. Who clears it?+
It follows the road agreement, which is worth reading before there is ever a tree across it. Private ways are not the town's responsibility and the town will not come. Clearance is usually a shared cost among the owners on the road, and everyone behind the blockage has an immediate interest in settling it quickly.
Can I move the tree myself to reopen access?+
Only if it is clear of wires, fully on the ground, not under tension, and not against a structure. Even then, a large trunk under its own weight can roll or pinch a saw badly. If it is holding any load at all — bent, propped, or resting on something — leave it. That is the situation that produces the majority of chainsaw injuries to homeowners.
How do I get the fastest useful response?+
One call to the right authority beats four to the wrong ones. Sort it in this order: danger to people, then electrical contact, then public road, then private property. Give the exact address with a landmark, say what the tree is touching and whether anyone is displaced, and send one wide photograph from outside the fall zone.
Emergency and road authorities in Vermont
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