The morning after a storm rolls through Volusia County, the question is not just what fell but what it fell across. A tree in the back yard is a nuisance. A tree across the driveway means you cannot get to work, and a tree across the street means nobody on the block can.
Who deals with it depends on where it landed.
On the public road
A tree across a public street is the responsibility of whoever maintains the road: the city inside municipal limits, the county on county roads, FDOT on state roads. Their crews clear roads in priority order after a storm: arterials and emergency routes first, then collector roads, then residential streets. In a bad storm, a residential cul-de-sac can be a day or more out.
Report it. Cities and the county have non-emergency lines and often an online reporting tool after storms. If the tree is also on a power line, report it to the utility as well, and nobody touches it until the line is confirmed dead.
Residents sometimes clear their own street with chainsaws to get out sooner. That is common and it is also where a lot of the storm injuries happen. A tree across a road is loaded, the branches are under tension, and the person cutting it usually has no experience with either. If you do it, read After the Storm: How to Clean Up Downed Trees Without Getting Hurt first, and do not cut anything near a wire.
On your driveway
A tree on your driveway is yours, unless it came from the public right of way, in which case the jurisdiction will usually clear the portion on their property and leave the rest. If it came from a neighbor's yard, it is still on your property and generally your problem to clear; the insurance question between you and the neighbor is separate. See Who Pays When a Tree Falls?.
Homeowners policies often cover removal of a fallen tree that is blocking a driveway or that damaged a covered structure, usually up to a limit. Check yours before assuming.
Where it sits in our queue
After a widespread storm we triage, and we are upfront about it:
- Anyone trapped or injured, and blocked access for emergency vehicles
- Trees on occupied houses
- Hanging limbs over occupied areas
- Blocked driveways and private roads
- Everything else
Blocked access sits high on our emergency service list, above a tree in the yard, because being unable to leave your house is a safety issue, particularly for people with medical needs. If a tree is blocking the only way out for someone who needs to get to dialysis, say so when you call; it moves you up. We wrote about how the triage works in What Actually Happens When You Call for Emergency Tree Service at 2 AM.
What we do on arrival
Clearing access is a different job from removing a tree. The goal is to open the driveway, not to finish the tree.
- Confirm no lines are involved
- Cut the trunk and limbs in a sequence that releases tension safely, starting from the free end
- Move the sections out of the path, usually to the side of the drive
- Leave the stump, the root plate and the pile for a scheduled visit
That gets you out of the driveway in an hour or two instead of tying up a crew for a full removal while other people are waiting. The full cleanup comes back on the schedule. See Storm Debris Hauling for what happens with the pile.
The root plate
When a tree uproots across a driveway, the root plate stands up on one side and the hole is on the other. Two things to know. First, the root plate can fall back into the hole when the trunk is cut, sometimes violently, and that is a specific hazard we manage by how and where we cut. Second, the hole often has utilities in it, or exposed roots that were wrapped around utilities. Do not backfill it without looking.
What you can safely do while you wait
- Move vehicles out of the way if they are not under the tree
- Clear small branches by hand, without a saw, that are not under tension
- Photograph everything for insurance
- Keep people and pets away from the root plate and from any limbs that are hanging
- Nothing near a wire
Frequently asked questions
How fast can you get to a blocked driveway?
Outside of a major storm, usually same day. After a hurricane, it depends on how many houses have trees on them ahead of you. We will tell you where you are.
The tree came from the road right of way. Will the county clear my driveway?
They will usually clear their portion and cut the tree at the property line. What is on your side is yours.
Can you just cut it up and leave it?
Yes. Clearing access and leaving the debris for pickup is a normal option, and after a big storm the county debris pickup takes anything piled at the curb.
Is a tree across the driveway an emergency?
It is urgent. It is not a life-safety emergency unless someone cannot get to care they need. We treat blocked access as a priority but we are honest that occupied houses come first.
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ArboristRX runs 24/7 storm response across Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, Oak Hill and Volusia County. Blocked in? Call (386) 444-5959.
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ArboristRX handles removals, trimming, stump grinding and 24/7 emergency work across Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, Oak Hill and Volusia County.
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