General information, not legal advice. Rules change and differ by city and county, so confirm with the utility, the city or the county before you act. We cut trees. We are not lawyers, and we do not handle claims.
Storm Tree on a Power Line or City Right-of-Way: Who Handles It?
Questions about a tree? Call Josh at (850) 888-5603.
If a storm tree is touching a power line, stay away and call the utility. The part on the line is not yours to touch. If the tree stands in the public strip beside the street, ask the city or county before you cut it. If it stands in your own yard, it is yours, and Josh at (850) 888-5603 can quote that part once the lines are dealt with.
Everything below comes from official pages we opened on November 2, 2026, listed at the end. Where we could not open a current rule, we say to ask rather than guess, and the Sources list names what we could not verify.
What do I do first if a fallen tree is touching a power line?
Stay back and treat the line as live. Georgia Power's power line safety page says to always assume a downed line is live and life-threatening, to keep children and pets away, and not to try to remove tree limbs or any other object from a downed line. It tells people to report the line to the utility, or to the police or fire department, so the spot can be barricaded until repair.
The same page says Georgia law requires contacting the Utilities Protection Center at 811 before work near high-voltage lines. A tree sitting on one of those lines is a job for the utility first.
Who takes the tree off the line?
The utility clears the tree from its own lines. These are the published rules for the utilities we could check:
- Georgia Power. Its storm page says falling trees and debris often cause outages, and that obstacles like these have to be cleared, often by a vegetation management team, before power can be restored. Its tree FAQ says Georgia Power cuts away storm-fallen trees that interfere with its lines so power can be restored, and that any vegetation debris cleanup after a storm is the property owner's responsibility. Routine maintenance pruning is separate: crews prune only trees that pose a potential hazard to its lines, and will not prune other trees while on your property.
- Talquin Electric (Leon, Gadsden, Liberty and Wakulla counties). Its vegetation page describes routine clearing near its lines: contracted crews mark trees for pruning, removal or treatment and flag "danger trees" that pose an immediate risk to the lines. That page does not cover storm trees, so call Talquin about one.
- Thomasville. The city's Public Works page sends tree limbs involving power lines to the city Electric Department, and keeps tree trimming that does not involve power lines with Public Works.
Your electric provider depends on your address. Check your bill if you are not sure. Georgia Power's FAQ puts post-storm vegetation debris cleanup on the property owner, so plan for the rest of a broken tree on your lot to be yours to deal with. Ask any other utility what it does.
What about the wire and meter on my house?
A tree can pull the service entrance off the wall: the mast, the meter base, the point where the utility wires meet the house wiring. Georgia Power says it cannot turn power back on until a damaged meter or service entrance is repaired by a licensed electrician, and that crews leave a door hanger when that is the problem. Cutting the tree does not fix that. Plan for two separate calls, one to a tree service and one to an electrician.
Whose tree is it when it stands between the sidewalk and the street?
It may belong to the city or county, even if it shades only your yard. Here is what each local government publishes:
- Tallahassee. The city's urban forestry page describes street trees as typically planted in the area between the sidewalk and the street, and its Canopy Roads plan covers maintenance of right-of-way areas. Call the city to ask whether a roadside tree is in city right-of-way.
- Leon County. The county's Right-of-Way Management page lists, among its functions, review of tree removal requests and the pruning and removal of high-risk trees along county roadsides. The county's Canopy Roads page says each canopy road has a tree protection area covering all land within a set distance of the road's centerline, which can reach onto private lots. Our post on tree removal permits in Tallahassee and Leon County goes through that in detail.
- Thomasville. The copy of the city's trees chapter posted on thomasville.org says no one may cut, remove or trim any tree on city-owned property without written permission from the city's tree committee. It exempts the city and public utilities doing normal service-line maintenance, and lets the city manager order a tree removed when the Planning Department finds it a danger to the public. That copy is dated 2005, and the city says its Code of Ordinances was codified by Municode and adopted in 2022, so ask the city whether the wording still holds.
- Valdosta. The Arbor Division page says the division plants, maintains and protects trees along city streets and public property, and that tree removal on non-residential property needs its approval first. The city's Land Development Regulations Chapter 328, which that page links, exempts tree removal by individual single-family homeowners (section 328-14(F)) and lets a tree damaged by a wind storm or other act of God that needs immediate removal come out without a permit (328-14(L)). The same chapter says no specimen or canopy tree that overhangs a public right of way may be removed without a tree removal permit (328-21). So a large tree reaching over the street is the one to ask the Arbor Division about before you cut.
- Lowndes County, Thomas County and unincorporated areas. No county right-of-way tree rule is cited here. Check with the county road department before cutting a roadside tree.
When in doubt, do not cut a tree standing in the public strip until the city or county says it is theirs or yours. Photograph it where it fell, and ask.
Do I need a permit to remove a storm-damaged tree in my own yard?
It depends on where you live.
- Florida. State law, section 163.045 of the Florida Statutes, bars a local government from requiring a notice, application, approval, permit, fee or mitigation to prune, trim or remove a tree on residential property, if the owner has documentation from an ISA-certified arborist or a Florida-licensed landscape architect that the tree poses an unacceptable risk to persons or property. The statute defines residential property as a single-family detached home on a lot used for that purpose. The documentation is a signed onsite assessment following the ISA Tree Risk Assessment best management practices, and a tree poses an unacceptable risk only if removal is the only practical way to bring its risk below moderate. That paperwork comes from a credentialed outside professional, not from us. Canopy road and other protected-tree rules are covered in our Tallahassee permit post and our Destin, Okaloosa and Walton permit post.
- Georgia. This post treats Georgia city by city, so rely on your city or county. In Valdosta, single-family homeowner removals are exempt under the city's LDR, but a canopy tree overhanging a public right of way needs a permit. In Thomasville, the 2005 chapter we could open restricts removal of exceptional trees (certain large hardwoods and others) in development, on commercial and industrial lots, and in required front yards in residential areas, and it covers city-owned trees. Ask before you cut a large hardwood in a front yard.
Who pays if a tree from the right-of-way or a power line lands on my house?
Who pays turns on the facts of each case, so we cannot tell you. Call your insurer before you hire anyone, photograph the tree and the damage before it is cut, and ask an attorney if there is a dispute. Our guides to homeowners insurance and storm tree damage in Georgia and tree-fall insurance claims in Florida cover what to ask. For a neighbor's tree, see who pays in Georgia.
Where does Reed Tree Service work?
Josh takes calls across North Florida and South Georgia, including the areas around Tallahassee, Thomasville and Valdosta. Our tree removal service page covers the work. Debris cleanup and stump work are an extra quote, set per job. For a limb that is already hanging or leaning, see who to call for a leaning or hanging tree.
FAQ
Can I cut a branch that is touching a power line?
No. Georgia Power says to assume a downed line is live and not to remove limbs from it. Call the utility.
Does the utility remove the whole tree?
Not necessarily. Georgia Power says it cuts away storm-fallen trees that interfere with its lines so power can be restored, and that any vegetation debris cleanup afterward is the property owner's responsibility. Ask your own utility what it does.
Can I remove a storm-damaged tree without a permit?
In Florida, state law can remove the permit requirement for a risky tree on residential property if you hold the required documentation. In Georgia, check with your city or county first. A tree in the public right-of-way is a separate question, so ask the city or county before you cut it.
Does Josh file claims or settle who owns the tree?
No. Josh cuts trees. Who owns a roadside tree is for the city or county to say, and who pays is between you, your insurer and, if it comes to it, an attorney.
Sources we opened
- Georgia Power: power line safety, for downed-line safety and the 811 requirement.
- Georgia Power: after a storm, for tree debris and the service entrance repair.
- Georgia Power: tree and vegetation management FAQs, for storm-fallen trees, debris cleanup and what its crews prune.
- Talquin Electric: vegetation management, for routine clearing and danger-tree marking.
- City of Thomasville: Public Works, for who handles tree limbs near power lines.
- City of Thomasville: Chapter 20, Trees and Landscaping (PDF, dated 2005) and the city ordinances page, for the 2022 recodification.
- City of Valdosta: Arbor Division and the Land Development Regulations Chapter 328 PDF it links (listed there as Revised 2025; the page headers in the PDF we read show a 2016 date, so confirm the current wording with the Arbor Division).
- City of Tallahassee: Urban Forestry.
- Leon County: Right-of-Way Management and Canopy Roads.
- Florida Statutes, section 163.045 (2026).
We could not open Thomasville's current code or any Lowndes or Thomas County right-of-way rule, and we did not verify a Georgia state law like Florida's. Ask the city or county.
Storm tree on a line or down in the street in North Florida or South Georgia? Call the utility first, then call Josh at (850) 888-5603.