Tree in the power lines: the one job we tell you not to hire us for — at first.
If limbs are into the big lines along the street, your first call is the utility, not a tree service — they clear their primary lines, on their schedule, for free. Our work starts a safe distance from the wires.
Which wire is it touching? The heavy lines running pole-to-pole along the street are the utility’s primary distribution — report a tree into those to the power company and their line-clearance program handles it, free, with crews certified to work energized lines. The single cable from the pole to your roof is the service drop — that’s your side of the fence, and it’s where a private tree service comes in, with one non-negotiable step first.
The safe sequence for your side
For tree work near your service drop, the sequence is: schedule the utility to disconnect or sleeve the drop (a routine, usually free request), we do the tree work with the hazard removed, they reconnect. It adds a phone call and saves lives — tree limbs conduct, aluminum ladders conduct, and rain-wet rope conducts. Any crew that shrugs and says they’ll “work around it” live is showing you their safety culture; believe them and hire someone else.
The palm-under-the-line problem
Palms deserve their own paragraph: they don’t branch, they only get taller, and a palm planted under a line will be in that line every year for the rest of its life. Utilities increasingly remove rather than re-trim them, and honest tree people say the same thing at ground level: the palm in the wrong spot is a removal plus a smarter replacement, not an annual emergency subscription.
What you can do today
From the ground, no ladders: photograph the tree and the wires from two angles that show what’s touching what, and text (727) 761-8618 — Cody will tell you in one reply whose call it is, and make the utility report with you if it’s theirs. If anything is arcing, smoking, or a line is down: that’s 911 and the utility’s emergency number, in that order, and nothing else until they’ve cleared it. Treat every downed line as live.
Questions Cody hears every week.
Which lines are the utility's job and which are mine?
The main lines running pole-to-pole along the street are the utility’s — report growth into them and their line-clearance crews handle it. The service drop from the pole to YOUR house, and everything else in the yard, is the homeowner’s responsibility — that’s where a qualified tree service comes in, with the utility disconnecting the drop first when work is close.
Can you trim my tree away from the wire to my house?
Yes — the safe sequence is scheduling the utility to drop or shield the service line, then we do the tree work, then they reconnect. It costs a little coordination and zero electrocutions. Any crew that says ‘we’ll just be careful’ around energized lines is telling you who they are.
My palm is growing into the lines — trim it or remove it?
Palms don’t branch — a palm under a line will be IN the line again every year forever. Utilities and honest tree people usually reach the same conclusion: the palm in the wrong spot is a removal, and its replacement is something that tops out lower. We’ll say that plainly instead of selling you an annual emergency.
Tell Cody about your tree.
Three fields. He answers his own phone — you’ll hear back fast.
Faster: text a photo of the tree to (727) 761-8618.