Hurricane and storm cleanup, from the hangers to the curb
The tree on the house gets the attention. The hangers in the other trees, the split pecan, the pine leaning a little more than it did last week and the pile at the curb are what the next storm uses. We clear all of it.
Mobile's storm calendar is long. Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 and the big ones have all come in that window: Frederic over Dauphin Island in September 1979, Elena's eyewall across the Alabama coast in September 1985, Georges with 20 to 30 inches of rain in September 1998, Ivan on September 16, 2004, Katrina in August 2005, Nate in October 2017, Sally on September 16, 2020 and Zeta six weeks after it. Isaias came ashore in October 2026 with Mobile and Baldwin counties under a Hurricane Warning. In between there are summer squall lines and the occasional tornado. After every one, the work is the same: find what broke, decide what's still dangerous, and get it to the landfill.
The first pass is triage. Auburn University's community forestry specialist gave Mobile-area homeowners a checklist after Sally that we still use: look at the back side of a leaning tree for mounded soil or exposed roots, because most leaning trees cannot be straightened; look for cracks between the trunks of forked trees, which mean partial failure; look up for broken limbs hanging or lodged in the canopy; and treat a tree that lost large branches totaling roughly 30 to 50 percent of its diameter as a split tree. The advice on priorities was just as plain: with a limited budget, deal first with the trees over high-value targets, your house, your driveway, the power lines, the places people walk.
The second pass is the debris. The City's rules are specific. Limbs over 12 inches across or over 6 feet long are not collected as household trash. Curb piles are capped at 2 cubic yards, roughly 3 by 3 by 6 feet, and bigger residential piles are removed for a fee. A pile set out more than 48 hours before the pickup day can draw a $532 fine, and so can blowing debris into the street or a storm drain. When a contractor does the work, the contractor is responsible for the debris. After a declared storm the City and County may run a separate debris program with its own curbside rules; after Nate in 2017, Mobile County didn't have enough debris to activate one and told residents to use the landfills. We chip what we can on site and haul the rest, so the pile is never your problem.
What's included
Hazard walk-through
Every tree on the lot checked for lean, cracked forks, hangers and root heave, with a plain list of what needs to come down now and what can wait.
Hangers and split limbs removed
Broken limbs lodged in the canopy are what fall on people during cleanup. They come out first.
Leaning pines taken down
A pine with mounded soil behind the lean has already failed at the roots. It comes down before the next front does it.
Chipped and hauled
Nothing left at the curb for the City to refuse: limbs chipped, logs hauled to the landfill, the lawn raked.
Storm-debris rules handled
Whatever the City or County program requires that year, we separate and stage the debris to match.
Photos and an itemized invoice
For your insurer, with each tree and each task on its own line.
Storm cleanup cost in Mobile, AL
| Job | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hangers and broken limbs, one tree | $200 – $600 | From the ground or a bucket |
| Storm-damaged tree removal, medium | $900 – $2,200 | Split or leaning, 40–60 ft |
| Storm-damaged tree removal, large | $2,000 – $5,000 | Over a structure, often with a crane |
| Yard cleanup and haul-off | $300 – $1,200 | Limbs, brush and the curb pile |
| Whole-lot cleanup after a hurricane | $1,500 – $6,000 | Several trees, multiple trips to the landfill |
| Stump grinding, storm uprooted | $200 – $600 | Root plate cut, hole backfilled |
These are 2026 Mobile-area ranges to help you budget. Your written price is itemized (climb or bucket work, rigging, chipping and haul-off, stump grinding, crane time, the City permit when one applies) and good for 30 days.
Recent work
Questions we get about storm cleanup
How soon after the storm can you come?
Make-safe calls (trees on houses, blocked driveways) start as soon as the wind drops. General cleanup is scheduled in the days after, in the order calls came in, with priority for trees still hanging over something. Call early; after Sally the list ran for weeks.
Will the City pick up my storm debris?
Sometimes. After a declared disaster the City or County may run a debris program with its own rules about separating vegetation from construction debris. Outside of that, the normal rules apply: limbs over 12 inches across or 6 feet long and piles over 2 cubic yards aren't collected, and contractor debris is the contractor's responsibility. We haul ours.
A tree is leaning but didn't fall. Is it safe?
Look at the ground on the back side of the lean. Mounded soil or exposed roots mean the root plate lifted, and the tree has already started to fail. Auburn Extension's guidance after Sally: most trees cannot be straightened. If it's leaning toward anything that matters, it should come down.
Can you just cut the hangers and leave the rest?
Yes. Hangers are the most dangerous thing on the lot during cleanup and the cheapest thing to fix. We'll price the hangers alone and give you a separate number for anything else.
Where does the debris go?
Chipped on site where you want mulch, otherwise to one of the area landfills: Chastang in Mount Vernon, Dirt Inc. on Cottage Hill Road, H & S Land in Semmes, Lott Road in Eight Mile, or Turkey Trott in Citronelle, depending on where you are.
Do you work in Baldwin County after a storm?
Yes. Daphne, Fairhope and Spanish Fort are in our regular service area, and after Sally the Eastern Shore and south Baldwin took the worst of it: Fairhope saw 12 inches of rain and Foley 21. Crews cross the bay as soon as the Bayway and the Causeway are open.