Storm Tree Removal in Forney, TX

What should you do in the first hour after a tree comes down?

1. Keep away from the lines. The Texas A&M Forest Service's storm advice says "DO NOT remove limbs on or near power lines," and Texas Health and Safety Code §752.004 keeps people and their tools six feet from high-voltage overhead lines (checked Nov 14, 2026). Call the electric company on your bill and report it.
2. Call 911 if anyone is hurt or trapped. Everything else can wait.
3. Photograph it where it lies. Get the tree, everything it hit, and the stump or root plate it tore loose from, all before a single piece is moved.
4. Call your insurer. What a homeowners policy usually covers is below.
5. Don't rush the chainsaw. The Forest Service puts it bluntly: "It is common for people to survive disasters only to be injured during recovery" (checked Nov 14, 2026).
6. Then line up the removal. Call (469) 689-1811 or use the request form and choose "Storm damage."

How long do you have under Forney's storm rule?

Until the start of the 15th calendar day after the damage. Section 39a.2.C.3.b of Forney's zoning ordinance (2026 edition, posted Apr. 9, 2026) allows removing broken limbs, or a protected tree that has been uprooted or has a broken trunk, without applying for a removal permit, provided the work happens "before the beginning of the 15th calendar day following the occurrence of the damage." The same sentence says that period may be extended "in the case of widespread and extensive storm damage" (checked Nov 14, 2026).

That window matters on land the section covers: vacant lots, property being redeveloped, and the required landscape areas of other developed property. A developed lot zoned single-family with a house on it is outside the section entirely (Sec. 39a.2.B.3), so there's no city deadline for clearing it, though a tree leaning on the house is its own reason to move quickly. State law adds that a Texas city generally may not prohibit removing a tree that poses an imminent or immediate threat to people or property (Local Government Code §212.905(h), checked Nov 14, 2026).

Elsewhere in the county: the City of Kaufman's tree rule lets its City Manager waive the rule during emergencies such as tornadoes or floods (Subdivision Ordinance §02.03.072(c)(4), adopted April 22, 2024; checked Nov 14, 2026). More is on the Kaufman County page.

What storms have hit Forney and Kaufman County?

These are the events this site could confirm in National Weather Service surveys and FEMA records, plus a few news reports, which are marked. It is not a complete list.

Two more notes. On May 28, 2024, a bow echo pushed gusts of 77 mph at DFW Airport and 95 mph at The Colony, and the state climatologist reported widespread tree damage across the region, though this site found no damage count for Kaufman County itself. And FEMA's DR-4255, for the winter storms, tornadoes, winds and flooding of Dec. 26, 2015 to Jan. 21, 2016, covered Kaufman County for public assistance only (all checked Nov 14, 2026).

What does ice do to the trees here?

It breaks them from the top down. Ice breaks limbs, and the Forest Service's cold and ice page says most live oaks, along with many other trees in leaf at the time, may also have taken freeze damage (checked Nov 14, 2026). Until a crew has cleared them, stay out from under ice-loaded limbs, and keep cars out from under them too.

For cleanup, the same page asks for any new wound on an oak to be painted right away, and for brush burning to wait until spring green-up, when wildfire danger is lower.

Should a tree that looks dead after a freeze come down?

Not yet. After the February 2021 freeze, the Forest Service reported many oaks, live oaks included, still bare months later, and its foresters' advice was patience: "If your tree is dead, there's no rush to take it down." Texas gardening expert Neil Sperry, quoted in the same release, added: "Don't start cutting those trees." The agency's test was simple: if by mid-July a tree still has zero leaves, it's dead (May 4, 2021 release; checked Nov 14, 2026). A broken limb over the driveway is a hazard today. A whole tree that just hasn't leafed out yet can wait for summer.

Can a storm-damaged tree be saved?

The Forest Service asks three questions. Is at least half of the crown, the branches and leaves, still there? Has the central leader, the main upward stem, been lost? Are major limbs broken? It says a tree with a split trunk, or one missing more than half its leaves, probably won't survive (checked Nov 14, 2026). A tree that passes those questions may be worth trimming instead; see tree trimming. One that fails is a removal.

Will homeowners insurance pay for the fallen tree?

Often for what it hit, sometimes for hauling it, and usually not for a tree that fell without hitting anything. Here is how the Texas Department of Insurance's January 24, 2026 guidance breaks it down (checked Nov 14, 2026):

• What the tree hit, such as the roof, the fence or the shed it crushed, is the part most often covered; in TDI's words, "Many policies pay for damages from falling objects, like trees."
• A tree or limb that lands in the yard without hitting anything usually isn't covered.
• Many policies also pay something toward removing storm-felled trees or limbs, generally when they damaged the house or block the driveway.
• If a neighbor's policy won't pay, you can file a claim under your own. A car hit by a tree falls under its comprehensive coverage.

An older TDI column adds that when a neighbor's tree falls on your house, their homeowners policy probably won't cover it "unless your neighbor was at fault," because your neighbor "isn't responsible for acts of nature"; your own policy should cover the repairs. Neither TDI page gives a dollar limit for tree removal, so read your own policy for that. And after a declared disaster, the county's FEMA page is clear that "FEMA assistance is not a replacement for insurance" (checked Nov 14, 2026).

How do you keep storm chasers and price gougers off your property?

Start with the Forest Service's plainest line: "Don't hire just anyone who shows up at your door after a storm" (checked Nov 14, 2026). Then:

• FEMA workers don't take money. Kaufman County's FEMA page says FEMA crews helping people apply "carry photo identification and never ask for, or accept, money." Anyone asking you to pay to speed up a FEMA claim isn't from FEMA.
• Gouging after a disaster declaration is illegal. Once the Governor or the President has declared a disaster, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act forbids selling necessities (building materials and construction tools are on the list) at prices the law calls "exorbitant or excessive." You report it with an online complaint to the Texas Attorney General.
• Door-to-door deals can be canceled. Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 601 lets you cancel a sale over $25 that a seller pitched to you away from their place of business, up to midnight of the third business day, and the chapter shows no exception for emergency repairs. The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule gives the same three business days, but it doesn't cover a purchase made to meet an emergency, or a visit you invited for repairs or upkeep.

Those rules are explained in more depth in the hiring guide (all checked Nov 14, 2026).

Does Kaufman County have public tornado shelters?

No. The county's own tornado page states: "Kaufman County does not have public tornado shelters" (checked Nov 14, 2026). Decide where your family goes before the next warning. The Kaufman County Office of Emergency Management is at 469-376-4163, oem@kaufmancounty.net, 2125 S. Houston Street in Kaufman (checked Nov 14, 2026), and the county has posted disaster assistance pages for events such as the August 22 to 25, 2022 storm and flooding and the spring 2024 storms.

What does storm cleanup cost?

Storm and emergency removal runs $150 to $250 an hour in HomeGuide's figures; a crane adds $500 to $2,500 a day; and removing a tree that's already down, with hauling and disposal, is $100 to $600 per tree. This Old House says emergency removal "can cost up to $5,000" (national figures, checked Nov 14, 2026). Your policy may pay part of it, so keep the invoice. More numbers are on the cost page, and the 15-day rule in full is on the Forney rules page.

A storm request through this site reaches one independent contractor who works across Kaufman County. Call (469) 689-1811, or send the request form with a line about what the tree landed on.

Sources: Forney Zoning Ordinance 2026-2, Sec. 39a (posted Apr. 9, 2026); Tex. Local Gov't Code §212.905; Tex. Health & Safety Code §752.004; City of Kaufman Subdivision Ordinance; NWS Fort Worth: Mar. 4, 2004, Apr. 11, 2011, Apr. 3, 2012 Forney, Apr. 3, 2012 summary, May 16, 2020, Apr. 5, 2022; NOAA Storm Events Database, May 29, 2019; news: NBC 5, inForney; FEMA DR-4781, DR-4586, DR-4255; Texas State Climatologist, May 2024; Texas A&M Forest Service: natural disasters, cold and ice damage, oaks after the 2021 storm, can my tree be saved; TDI, Jan. 24, 2026 and TDI column; Kaufman County 2024 storm page, tornadoes and OEM; Texas Attorney General, price gouging; Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 601; FTC Cooling-Off Rule; HomeGuide; This Old House. All checked Nov 14, 2026.