Storm cleanup in Palm Bay — the day after, and the week after
The oak across the back yard, the pine that missed the house and took the fence, the hangers over the driveway, the palm fronds knee-deep on the lawn — cut, chipped, hauled and photographed, after the emergency crews have gone.
The emergency work happens in the first night: trees off houses, driveways opened, wires reported. The cleanup is everything after that, and it's most of the work a hurricane leaves behind. Milton in October 2024 left "scattered downed trees and powerlines throughout" Brevard County in the Weather Service's words and 405 damaged structures; Ian and Nicole two years earlier dropped a large share of the county's root-cut pines and weak laurel oaks; every squall line in between takes a few more. What's left on a Palm Bay lot afterward is a downed tree or two, a root plate standing six feet in the air with a hole beside it, hangers — limbs broken but still hanging in the canopy, the most dangerous thing in the yard — a fence under a pine, and a lawn under a foot of fronds and brush.
We work it in order. Hangers first, because they come down on people. Then trees on fences, sheds and cars, cut off carefully so they don't do more damage coming off. Then downed trees cut, chipped and hauled, root plates cut free and either dropped back into their hole or removed and the hole filled, and the stumps ground if you want. Then the brush and fronds — chipped on site and hauled, or, where the county has opened a debris pickup after a declared storm, stacked at the curb the way the county wants it (vegetative separate from construction debris, off the swale and the meters) so it actually gets picked up. Everything photographed with a date for your claim, and the mitigation invoiced separately from the removal.
What's included
Hangers first
Broken limbs still hanging in the canopy come down before anything else — they're what hurts people the week after a storm.
Off fences, sheds and cars
Trees on secondary structures cut off in sections so the fence and the car survive the removal.
Root plates
Uprooted trees cut free, the root plate dropped back and the hole filled, or removed and the stump ground.
Chipped and hauled — or stacked right
Chipped and hauled on our truck, or stacked at the curb to the county's debris rules after a declared storm so the pickup takes it.
Dated photos
Before, during and after, with dates, plus an itemized invoice with the mitigation separate — what the adjuster asks for.
Leaners and survivors
The trees that stayed up but moved — leaning oaks, cracked pines — assessed by the arborist for what comes next.
Storm cleanup & debris cost in Palm Bay, FL
| Job | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hanger removal, per limb | $150 – $450 | First priority |
| Downed tree cut, chipped and hauled (medium) | $500 – $1,400 | Per tree |
| Large oak down across the yard | $1,200 – $3,000 | Sectioned, hauled |
| Tree off a fence, shed or vehicle | $500 – $1,800 | Careful removal |
| Root plate cut and dropped back, hole filled | $300 – $800 | Or removed and ground |
| Yard debris cleanup, chipped and hauled (per load) | $250 – $600 | Or curb-stacked to county rules |
| Whole-lot storm cleanup, typical | $1,500 – $4,500 | Most Palm Bay lots |
These are 2026 Brevard County ranges so you can budget. Your written price is itemized — the climb or bucket work, rigging, crane if needed, chipping and haul-off, stump grinding — and good for 30 days.
Recent work
Questions we get about storm cleanup & debris
How soon after the storm can you come?
Emergency work starts the moment the wind drops. Cleanup runs in the days and weeks after, in the order calls came in and by how urgent the lot is — hangers over a driveway before brush on a lawn. After a big storm we'll tell you honestly where you are on the list.
Should I stack debris at the curb for the county?
Only after the county announces a storm-debris pickup and only the way they ask: vegetative debris in one pile, construction debris in another, nothing on the swale, the meter or the storm drain, and nothing that blocks the road. Piles that don't follow the rules sit for weeks. If you'd rather not wait, we chip and haul it.
Will insurance pay for cleanup?
Removal of a tree from a covered structure is usually paid, minus the deductible, and most policies include a small amount — a few hundred dollars — for hauling that tree away. Trees that fell in the yard and hit nothing, and general yard debris, generally aren't covered. We invoice the two separately so the covered part is clear.
A tree is leaning after the storm but didn't fall. Is it safe?
Not necessarily. A lean that's new, with soil heaved on the opposite side or roots showing, means the root plate has failed and the tree will finish falling in the next wind — it needs to come down. A tree that's always leaned and hasn't moved is a different story. The arborist can tell which in five minutes.
Can you right an uprooted tree instead of removing it?
Small trees and palms, sometimes — pulled upright, staked and watered, within a day or two of going over. Anything big is done; once the root plate is up, it's a removal.