General information, not legal advice. Numbers and rules change, especially in the weeks after a storm, so check each official page before you rely on a number. Reed Tree Service is a tree service, not an emergency responder. Nothing here replaces 911 or your utility.
Who to Call After a Storm in North Florida and South Georgia
Questions about a tree? Call Josh at (850) 888-5603.
For a downed power line, call 911 or your electric utility, and stay away from the line. For debris pickup and damage reports, call your own county or city, because the rules differ from one to the next. Call a tree service only for the tree work itself, such as a trunk on a roof or a hanging limb, and only once no line is involved. For that part, call Josh at (850) 888-5603.
Everything below comes from official pages we opened on November 2, 2026, listed at the end. Where we did not confirm a number, we link the official page and do not print one.
Which number do I call for a downed power line?
Call 911 or the utility that serves your address, and check your bill if you are unsure which that is. Georgia Power's restoration page says, "If you see a downed line, call 911, or us directly at 1-888-891-0938" to have it barricaded until it can be repaired. Its 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 limbs or any other object from a downed line.
| Where | Who | What to call about | How to reach them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anywhere | 911 | A person or animal caught in power lines, a fire, an injury | 911 |
| Georgia Power territory | Georgia Power | Downed line | 1-888-891-0938 (or 911) |
| Talquin Electric territory (Gadsden, Leon, Liberty and Wakulla counties) | Talquin Electric | Outage | Automated line 1-844-825-7846 (1-844-TALQUIN), live operator 1-888-802-1832 |
| Talquin Electric territory | Talquin Electric | Downed line | Call 911. Talquin's storm safety tips say to report downed lines by calling 911 |
| City of Tallahassee Utilities | City of Tallahassee | Outage | 850-891-4968, or the Report an Electric Outage form on the City's outage page |
| Thomasville | City Electric Department | Tree limbs involving power lines | (229) 227-7001 or (229) 227-5499 |
For a deeper look at who takes a tree off a line and who handles roadside trees, see our post on storm trees on power lines and in the right-of-way.
Who handles debris pickup and damage reports?
That depends on your county and city. We opened the pages below for the places we could reach.
| Where | What to do | How to reach them |
|---|---|---|
| Okaloosa County | Isaias debris questions. The county's emergency page also asks residents to report Isaias damage with photographs through a Survey 123 form it links. | Isaias debris line (temporary) 1-833-495-3664. Page: Okaloosa EOC |
| Walton County | Damage reporting. Its Disaster FAQs page has residential and business damage forms. | damage@waltoncountyem.org or (850) 892-8392. Its Disaster FAQs page says that if you use a contractor for demolition or tree removal, the contractor is responsible for debris disposal. The Isaias debris FAQ (PDF) says debris from tree service companies must be removed by the company. |
| Leon County and Tallahassee | Debris pickup and damage reporting. | Check Leon County Emergency Management and the City of Tallahassee. |
| Thomasville | Yard debris. | City Solid Waste, (229) 227-7037. Public Works, (229) 227-7025. |
| Valdosta and Lowndes County | Emergency management. We did not find a debris or damage-report line. | Lowndes County Emergency Management 229-671-2791. The city's Emergency Call Center, a non-emergency line, is 229-245-5270. |
The Okaloosa page, Walton's recovery page and Walton's debris FAQ PDF were written for Hurricane Isaias recovery in October 2026. Walton's Disaster FAQs page itself is general. The Isaias debris dates, drop-off sites and call centers can end or change, so open the page before you call. Our posts on Isaias debris pickup rules and who removes debris when a tree service cuts a tree go through the Okaloosa and Walton rules in more detail.
Where do I report damage for aid and insurance?
Start with your own insurer, then your county. For federal help, the FEMA helpline is 1-800-621-3362, listed on the Okaloosa and Walton pages. Walton's page gives its hours as 7 AM to 10 PM your time zone, seven days a week, and says to file an insurance claim first. The Walton page also says completing its damage form does not guarantee FEMA assistance and is not a requirement for it. Federal help applies only where a disaster declaration covers your county, so ask your county's emergency management office. You can also apply at DisasterAssistance.gov.
For food, housing and other local help, dial 211 or look up your local 211 at 211.org. Okaloosa's page lists it for disaster support.
When do I call a tree service?
Call one for the tree, after any line is cleared. UGA Extension says severely damaged trees pose hazards and should be removed, that broken branches hung up in a tree are a falling hazard it calls widow makers, and, in its words, "For larger jobs, call in the professionals," then points to "certified arborists." Reed Tree Service does not claim that credential. A tree on a house, a trunk across a driveway or a limb hanging over a walkway are tree-service calls.
For the tree work, call Josh at (850) 888-5603. He takes calls across North Florida and South Georgia, including Thomasville and Valdosta. He does tree work. He does not file claims, certify damage for the county or insurer, or work around live lines. Cleanup, debris and stump work are an extra quote, set per job, so ask about them before the work starts, especially in counties like Walton that put tree-service debris on the company. See our storm cleanup service page and our guides to who to call for a leaning or hanging tree, assessing trees after a hurricane and which trees fail in hurricanes.
FAQ
Can I call Reed Tree Service for a tree on a power line?
Not first. Call 911 or your utility for any line. Josh handles the tree once the line is dealt with.
Is Reed Tree Service an emergency responder?
No. For anyone hurt or any line down, call 911 or your utility first. Josh takes storm and fallen-tree calls once no line is involved: call Josh at (850) 888-5603.
Who picks up the limbs after a tree service cuts a tree?
It depends on the county. Walton County's Disaster FAQs page says a contractor doing demolition or tree removal is responsible for debris disposal, and its Isaias debris FAQ says debris from tree service companies must be removed by the company. Ask your county, and ask the tree service what its quote includes. With Reed, cleanup and debris are an extra quote.
Does a damage report get me FEMA money?
Not by itself. Walton's page says its form does not guarantee FEMA assistance and is not required for it. Eligibility depends on a federal disaster declaration for your county.
What if my number is not on this list?
Use your utility bill, your county's emergency management page, or 211.
Sources we opened
- Georgia Power: restoration, for the downed-line number and 911.
- Georgia Power: power line safety, for downed-line safety.
- Talquin Electric: Outage Center and Outages and Emergencies, for the outage numbers, and Talquin Electric: storm preparedness, for the downed-line advice and the Gadsden, Leon, Liberty and Wakulla service counties.
- City of Tallahassee: report an electric outage, for the outage phone number.
- Leon County Emergency Management.
- Okaloosa County Emergency Operations Center, for the debris line, Survey 123 damage reporting and the FEMA helpline.
- Walton County Disaster FAQs, for damage reporting, the FEMA helpline hours and the contractor debris rule, and Walton Hurricane Recovery and the Walton Isaias debris FAQ (PDF, dated 10-20-26), for the Isaias debris rules, including that tree service companies remove their own debris.
- City of Thomasville: Public Works, for the Electric Department, Solid Waste and Public Works numbers.
- City of Valdosta: emergency services, for the Lowndes County Emergency Management and Emergency Call Center numbers.
- United Way 211 and DisasterAssistance.gov.
- UGA Extension Forsyth County: Care for storm-damaged trees, for the hazard advice.
What we could not verify: Thomas County's and Lowndes County's own sites did not load, so their debris and damage-reporting contacts are not listed. We did not find a debris pickup rule or phone number for Leon County or the City of Tallahassee.
Tree down in North Florida or South Georgia and the line is dealt with? Call Josh at (850) 888-5603 for the tree work only. For a downed line, call 911 or your utility first.