Tree Fox handles storm-damaged and fallen trees across Greater Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills on a 24/7 emergency line, including trees on fences, sheds, cars and houses. Calls are triaged by risk and you get a realistic arrival estimate. Standard business-hours callouts start at $500–$1,500; house strikes and after-hours work cost more. Call 0468 016 492 now.
If a tree is on your roof, your fence, your car, or your powerline, stop reading and call us — Tree Fox runs a 24/7 emergency line for storm damage tree removal across metro Adelaide and the Hills. We triage by risk and come with the right gear and the council awareness to deal with any regulated-tree complications that arise from an emergency removal.
DO NOT touch a tree on a powerline. Treat the line as live. Call SA Power Networks (faults & emergencies: 13 13 66) before you call us. We coordinate with them on site.
When to call us — and when to call SES first
A quick triage:
| Situation | First call |
|---|---|
| Tree on a powerline (live or down) | SA Power Networks 13 13 66, then us |
| Tree on a person, or someone trapped | 000, then us |
| House structurally compromised, gas line damaged | 000 / SA Gas, then us |
| Tree on the house, no immediate hazard | Us (24/7) |
| Tree on the fence, garage, shed, car | Us (often same day) |
| Tree blocking the driveway | Us (same day) |
| Large limb has fallen but tree’s still standing | Us (next-day usually fine) |
| Tree leaning dangerously after the storm | Us (same day if inhabited near it) |
| Insurance has asked for emergency made-safe | Us + your insurer |
For non-emergency standard removals, see tree removal. For trees already on the ground, see fallen tree removal. For powerline scope, see powerline clearance.
Adelaide’s storm season — what we see
Adelaide’s storm season runs November through March. Hot dry summers stress trees; first cool-change fronts bring the gusts. The recurring jobs:
- Sugar gum and red gum limb drops — eucalypts shed massive lateral limbs in summer heat, sometimes with no warning, no wind required (“summer limb drop”). The tree looks fine. The limb is on the carport.
- Whole-tree blowovers in saturated soil after spring/summer storms — most common in the Hills foothills (Stirling, Aldgate, Mitcham foothills) and northern outer suburbs (Salisbury) where established trees sit in clay soils that go from dry to waterlogged fast.
- Pine and Norfolk pine root failures in coastal suburbs (Henley Beach, Glenelg, Brighton) where shallow root plates and salt-loaded soils combine with strong cool-change winds.
- Plane and jacaranda branch failures on character-suburb streets (Norwood, Walkerville, Unley) where mature heritage trees sit close to houses and parked cars.
- Lemon-scented gum and eucalypt failures along driveways and back fences.
- Palm and cotton palm crown collapses — usually a slower-developing hazard, occasionally accelerated by storm winds.
We work straight through storm season, including weekends and after-hours.
What an emergency callout looks like
- Phone triage. What’s down, where, what’s it hit, anyone hurt, any utility lines involved. We give you an arrival window.
- Make-safe attendance. First priority is securing the area — exclusion zones, tarps over compromised roof sections, supports under bowed limbs that haven’t dropped yet.
- Made-safe report. Photos and a short written summary if you’re claiming on insurance. Check with your insurer what they need.
- Removal. Sectional dismantling, crane work where needed, full crew with chipper. We don’t leave it half done.
- Cleanup. Including the bits in the gutter, the bits in the neighbour’s yard, and the chipped material.
- Follow-up if needed. Stump grinding, replacement tree advice, or an arborist report for the insurance claim.
Pricing context for emergency tree removal
Honest framing: emergency tree removal is more expensive than a planned removal because we’re attending out-of-hours, often with a crane, often with utility coordination.
- Standard emergency callout (tree on fence/shed/car, no powerline involvement, business hours): from around $500-$1,500
- Tree on house, structural impact, after-hours: $1,500-$5,000+
- Powerline involvement, crane required, multiple-tree storm event: $3,000-$10,000+, priced after site arrival and SAPN coordination
If your insurer is involved, we’re happy to talk to them directly. We can issue a made-safe quote for emergency authorisation while a final scope is negotiated for the full removal.
What to do before we arrive
If a tree is on your house, fence, or car:
- Stay clear. A tree that’s already moved is unstable. Don’t climb on it, don’t try to lift the limb off the car, don’t poke at it.
- Move people and pets away. Set up a 5m exclusion zone around the canopy and the trunk.
- Don’t touch any wires — assume every wire is live. SA Power Networks first if there’s any line involvement.
- Photograph the damage before we arrive — wide shots showing the tree, the structure, and any visible damage. Useful for your insurance claim.
- Don’t cut anything yourself. A tensioned limb under load is dangerous to release. If the tree’s still got standing tension, an unqualified cut can spring it.
- Tarp the roof if it’s safe to do so and rain’s coming. If the roof access is sketchy, leave it for us.
Storm damage and emergency tree removal across Greater Adelaide
We attend across the metro — eastern, western, northern, southern suburbs — and the Adelaide Hills foothills (Stirling, Aldgate, Crafers, Mylor, Mount Barker township). Hills storm jobs often combine emergency removal with bushfire-clearance follow-up under the Native Vegetation Act 1991, which we coordinate. Coastal storm jobs (Glenelg, Henley Beach) often involve large Norfolk pines in salt-loaded ground — different removal technique, same response time. Full coverage on the locations hub.