Storm Recovery
Storm & Hurricane Cleanup
Hurricane Isaias came ashore near Destin on the evening of 9 October 2026 as a Category 2 storm, and from Fort Walton Beach to Panama City the yards look the same: pines down, oak limbs on fences and roofs, palms leaning, beds buried in debris, and lawns that sat under brackish water for a day.
We are a landscape and tree crew based in Freeport, 25 minutes from 30A, and we are scheduling storm cleanup across Walton, Okaloosa and Bay counties now. One crew clears the debris, takes down what is unsafe, saves what can be saved and tells you plainly which plants, sod and irrigation need replacing. No subcontractors and no second company to coordinate.
What storm cleanup covers
- Clearing downed limbs, branches, fronds and leaf litter from lawns, beds, drives and pool decks
- Cutting up and removing fallen trees, and taking down trees left leaning or split
- Hauling debris off site, or staging it curbside to the county's sorting rules where collection is running
- Straightening and re-staking palms and young trees that lifted in the wind
- Pruning torn and hanging limbs back to the branch collar so the tree seals rather than rots
- Clearing beds, re-edging and re-mulching once the debris is out
- Flushing and repairing irrigation that took sand, salt water or a limb through it
- Assessing sod and plantings that sat in brackish water, and replacing what will not recover
How we price it
Free on-site estimate
Storm work is priced per property after a walk-through, because two yards on the same street can be a morning's raking or three days of rigging and hauling. We send a written price before any work starts, and if you need a figure for an insurance claim we itemise it.
What moves the number
- Volume of debris and how many truckloads it is
- Trees and limbs down, and whether any are on a structure
- What is leaning and needs rigging down rather than cutting
- Whether the county is collecting curbside debris at your address, or we haul everything
- Palms, beds, sod or irrigation that need replacing rather than cleaning
Warranty
Insured to $2 million
Clean-up is not a product with a workmanship warranty — what protects you is the insurance behind the crew on your property. We carry general liability cover to $2 million and will send a certificate before we arrive. Ask every crew that knocks on your door after a storm for one, including us.
How it works
From the first call to a yard you can use again
- 1Same day
Call or send photos
Two or three photos of the worst of it are enough to tell us whether this is a half-day clear-up or a tree job with debris behind it. We are answering the phone Monday to Friday, 8 to 5, and scheduling in the order calls come in.
- 2Within a few days
Walk-through and written price
We walk the property with you, flag anything unsafe to stand under, and leave a written price that separates cleanup from any tree removal or replanting. You can take the first part now and decide on the rest later.
- 3Day 1
Make it safe
Hanging limbs, split trunks and anything resting on a roof, fence or screen enclosure come down first and under control. Nothing else happens in the yard until it is safe to work in.
- 4Days 1–2
Clear and haul
Debris is cut, loaded and hauled, or stacked curbside sorted the way the county's haulers want it so it is actually collected. Hard surfaces are blown off and beds are raked out.
- 5Days 2–3
Save what can be saved
Leaning palms are straightened and braced, torn limbs are pruned cleanly, and irrigation is flushed, tested zone by zone and repaired. Plants that are only wind-burned usually recover and we will say so rather than sell you a replacement.
- 6Following weeks
Replace what cannot
Sod that drowned in salt water, shrubs that snapped at the base and palms that cannot be saved are replaced from our own nursery in Freeport, so you are not waiting on a supplier whose stock every other contractor is also chasing.
How the work is done
There is no material list on a clean-up — the job is equipment, access and knowing what to keep. Where we do replant, the stock comes from Allgood Nursery on Highway 331, which matters in the weeks after a storm when wholesale palms and sod are short across the whole Panhandle. Irrigation repairs use the same Rain Bird professional parts as our installations.
Built for here
What storm cleanup has to account for on this coast
Salt water kills slowly
Surge and bay flooding leave salt in the root zone, and sod and shrubs that look fine the week after a storm brown out over the following month. Where water stood, flushing with fresh irrigation early is the cheapest thing you can do, and we will tell you which beds to flush and which are already past saving.
Sand changes how trees fail
A root plate in coastal sand lifts rather than snaps, so a tree that is upright again after the wind dropped can still be loose in the ground. The tell is heaved soil on one side of the trunk. Those trees are either braced or removed — they are not left to see what the next front does.
County debris collection has rules
After a declared storm the counties typically run curbside debris pickup, and vegetative debris has to be separated from construction material and household waste or it is left behind. We stack to the county's rules where collection is running and haul everything ourselves where it is not, so the pile does not sit on your verge for a month.
Remodels and vacation rentals cannot wait
A rental on 30A or in Destin with a yard full of debris is a rental that cannot turn over. We prioritise making properties safe and presentable first, and schedule replanting as a second visit so the booking calendar is not held up by a palm delivery.
HOA and architectural review still apply
Removing a damaged tree in the 30A communities, Sandestin or an HOA neighborhood can still need sign-off, storm or not, and most review boards fast-track genuine hazard removals. Tell us the community and we will confirm what applies before anything is scheduled.
Storm cleanup questions
Do you do emergency storm response?
No. We do not run after-hours or emergency call-outs, so if a tree is on your house right now, call a 24-hour emergency tree service and your insurer first. We handle the cleanup, removals and replanting during normal working hours, Monday to Friday, once the emergency is past.
How soon can you get to me?
We are scheduling in the order calls come in and the wait is longer than usual in the weeks after a storm, so the sooner you call or send photos the sooner you are on the list. We will give you an honest date rather than a hopeful one.
Will insurance cover storm cleanup?
Often part of it. Most homeowner policies cover removal of a tree that fell on a covered structure and some cover debris removal up to a limit, while general yard cleanup is usually on the owner. We itemise the written price so your adjuster can see which is which.
Can I just put the debris at the curb for the county to collect?
Usually yes, if your county has activated storm debris pickup for your area, and the debris has to be sorted into the piles they ask for or it will be left. We can cut, stack and sort it to those rules for you, and we haul it ourselves where collection is not running.
My palms are leaning. Are they finished?
Usually not. Palms with an intact root ball can be straightened, re-staked and braced, and most recover fully. A palm with a cracked trunk or a snapped crown cannot, and we will tell you which is which on the walk-through.
My lawn was under salt water. Will it come back?
It depends on how long it sat and the grass type. Flushing it with fresh water through the irrigation as soon as the water drains gives it the best chance, and some varieties tolerate salt far better than others. We assess it, and replace what is dead with sod matched to the exposure.
Do you take down the trees too, or is that a separate company?
We take them down. Tree removal, sectional rigging and stump grinding are all in-house, so there is one crew and one price, not a cleanup company waiting on a tree company.
Are you insured?
Yes, general liability to $2 million, and we will send a certificate of insurance before the crew arrives. After a storm every area fills with out-of-town crews, so ask anyone you hire for the same.
Guides
Related services
Send us a few photos of the damage
Two or three photos of the worst of it and your town, and we will tell you what it is, roughly what it takes, and when we can get to you.