Tree Removal in Oklahoma City, OK

A tree that has to come down in Oklahoma City is often one the weather already hurt: ice split a limb, wind left the trunk leaning, a storm put something across the wires. From there the job turns on how close it is to a power line, what it could hit, and who takes the wood away. These pages go through that for OKC, with sources. We connect homeowners with local tree companies and do no tree work ourselves.

Ice, wind and tornadoes here

The National Weather Service log for the ice storm of late October 2020 describes "extensive tree and powerline damage", with large trees down at Lake Overholser and a large pine uprooted in Nichols Hills. The leaves were still on, and the Oklahoma Mesonet says that made the trees "easy prey". It was not the first time. In December 2007 an Oklahoma City emergency manager reported widespread tree damage over much of the area.

Wind is the other half. NWS Norman's Oklahoma City tornado record holds 194 listings for a roughly 600-square-mile area around the city, with May the peak month, and it describes two EF3 tornadoes on November 3, 2024, one of them damaging homes, trees and power lines across southeastern OKC. The city's own tree guide says trees here have to live with "consistent winds", and that large trees in urban settings are more likely to be damaged in Oklahoma's high winds.

What the job involves

Where nothing is in the way, a crew may be able to lay a tree down in the yard and cut it up on the ground. A roof, a fence or a wire underneath changes that, and the tree gets taken apart from the top by someone in the crown or in a lift, sometimes with a crane for the big pieces. Get all of it in writing, because a quote for the cutting may still leave you with the stump and the wood.

Two local rules can change the plan. OG&E says any arborist working on a tree within 10 feet of its power lines is technically working "on the electric system" and needs permission, and it asks you to contact it first about a dead tree or work that close. And the wood is the company's to deal with: the city's bulky waste page says "Landscape waste from contractors must be hauled off by the landscaper, including bagged waste." The curb pickup page has the rest.

Trim it, or take it down?

One broken limb does not condemn a tree, and Oklahoma State University's pruning fact sheet says mature trees seldom need pruning. The harder calls are trees with split trunks, and species the city's guide warns about, like the Bradford pear, whose limbs can split the whole tree apart after ten or more years. Start with the trim or remove page.

Not for emergencies

This site is not for emergencies. If a tree has come down on a wire or on the house, or anyone is hurt, call 911 before anything else, then the line company. OG&E's line for outages and downed power lines in the OKC metro is 405-272-9595 (theirs, not ours). The tree down page has more.

Outside the city limits

Nichols Hills, The Village, Warr Acres, Bethany, Del City and Moore each have their own city government. The NWS tornado record lists them as separate jurisdictions inside its Oklahoma City area. The state law and storm notes here still apply to you. The curb and street rules on these pages are Oklahoma City's, so ask your own city hall about those.

Pick what you need

• Ice storm damageWhat the 2020 storm did, which trees the city's guide flags, and what to look at after a thaw.
• Tree down after a stormWho to call, photos first, what Oklahoma insurance usually covers, 811.
• Trees near power linesThe wire to your house versus the wires on the poles, OG&E's rules and the six-foot law.
• Limbs and curb pickupBulky waste rules, storm passes, and why a company's wood stays its problem.
• Trim or removeWarning signs, topping, and the trees that local guides warn about.
• Dying pines, oaks and ashPine wilt, oak canker and where emerald ash borer has been confirmed.
• Trees by the streetThe 12-foot strip, the city's hazardous tree list, and what we could not confirm.
• Questions to askWhat to have on paper before work starts, and who to call about door-knockers.