With a tree on a wire or on the house, or anyone hurt, call 911 first. This site is not for emergencies. Assume any wire on the ground is live: OG&E says "Downed power lines could be live, so always stay away."
Who to call
None of these are our numbers. They come from each office's own page.
| The problem | Who |
|---|---|
| Someone hurt, or a person or car touching a line | 911. OG&E says to keep your distance, because current could flow through you, and to stay in a vehicle that is in contact with a line. |
| Downed line or outage, OG&E customer | 405-272-9595 in the OKC metro, 800-522-6870 elsewhere, listed as open around the clock. |
| Downed line or outage, Oklahoma Electric Cooperative member | (405) 321-2024. The page gives weekday hours and we saw no separate after-hours electric number, so use 911 if anyone is at risk. |
| Tree blocking a street, nobody hurt | City Public Works (streets, traffic, drainage) at (405) 297-3451, or the Action Center at (405) 297-2535. |
| A claim that is going wrong | Oklahoma Insurance Department at 800.522.0071, or 405.521.2828 in Oklahoma City. |
The city's street maintenance page names both OG&E and OEC for electrical outages, so check your bill to see which one serves you.
While you wait, keep clear of the tree. ISA warns that limbs and trees under tension can react unexpectedly when cut or moved, and that a damaged tree can touch wires directly or through another object. Cleanup work is where it says homeowners get tempted, and it calls that work inherently dangerous.
Photos before anything moves
The Oklahoma Insurance Department's claim steps say to call your agent or insurer, make temporary repairs that keep more damage from happening, and save the receipts. Then: "Before moving any debris or removing damaged belongings, make sure to take photos or video of the damage." And: "Do not make any permanent repairs until the insurance company reviews the damages."
So get a tarp over a hole in the roof if that can be done safely, and hold off on the permanent fix. Photograph the tree where it fell before a company cuts it up. A wide shot of where it stood helps too.
What Oklahoma insurance usually does
These are the department's general lines, and your own policy decides what is covered. Treat this as a list of things to ask your agent.
| Situation | What the department says |
|---|---|
| Tree damages the house | Its winter weather page lists damage from "trees or other falling objects" among things covered under most HO3 policies. It says an HO2 policy may not cover them. |
| Tree falls and hits nothing | The same page lists removal of fallen trees as usually not covered, "unless those trees land on and damage the roof or walls of the home". |
| Wind damage and your deductible | Its wind and hail page says a policy may carry a separate deductible for that peril, so look for it before you decide to file. |
| Debris removal in general | Its after-the-disaster page says a standard policy automatically provides debris removal coverage, and that owners are not compensated if volunteers do the work. That sits awkwardly with the fallen tree line above, so ask your agent which applies. |
Storms here
NWS Norman's record for the Oklahoma City area lists 194 tornadoes and calls 13 of them violent, including the May 3, 1999 F5 and the May 20, 2013 EF5, whose path of about 14 miles ran from Newcastle across Moore and parts of south Oklahoma City. The city's tree guide says the 1999 storm severely damaged or destroyed all trees within its path. After a storm that size, the city's debris page says it may bring in a private contractor, or FEMA-certified crews when a state emergency disaster is declared. Most storms are smaller, and the curb pickup page covers what happens then. In the city's 2021 storm cleanup, structural debris such as roofing and bricks stayed the homeowner's responsibility.
Before anyone digs
A stump grinder or a root ball being pulled can reach buried lines. OKIE811 says to put in a locate request "at least 3 business days before you plan to dig", and that it is free. The state act sets its minimum at 48 hours, not counting the day of notice, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, so follow the longer one. If you hire the work out, OKIE811 says the call is the contractor's responsibility. Lines between the meter and the house, like sprinklers and private lighting, may not be marked at all. OG&E lists 811 as its call-before-you-dig number.
Who shows up afterward
The Attorney General's office warned in April 2026 to "Be extremely cautious of contractors who demand large upfront payments or insist on cash transactions." The insurance department says to never sign a contract with blank spaces and not to hand over the whole amount at the start. The questions page has the longer list, including the state's limit on raising prices during a declared emergency.
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Sources
- OG&E, During an Outage
- OG&E, Contact Us
- Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, Outage Center
- City of Oklahoma City, Helpful Phone Numbers
- Oklahoma Insurance Department, How to File a Claim
- City of Oklahoma City, Street and Drainage Maintenance
- International Society of Arboriculture, Storm-Related Tree Damage (PDF, 2021)
- Oklahoma Insurance Department, Winter Weather
- Oklahoma Insurance Department, Wind and Hail
- Oklahoma Insurance Department, After the Disaster
- National Weather Service Norman, Oklahoma City area tornadoes (last updated December 2025)
- National Weather Service Norman, May 20, 2013 tornado event page
- City of Oklahoma City Planning Department, Putting Down Roots, second edition, about 2010 (PDF on the state forestry site)
- City of Oklahoma City, Storm Debris Collection
- City of Oklahoma City, Debris collection underway for October 13 storm (October 21, 2021)
- OKIE811, Homeowners
- OKIE811, The Law (Oklahoma Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act, law in effect November 1, 2025)
- Oklahoma Attorney General, Drummond warns of contractor fraud after severe weather (April 6, 2026)
Read on 2026-11-05. External pages can change.