Tree Removal in Coal City, IL

Tree Removal in Coal City has a different feel than in most towns, because people here have seen what storms do to trees up close. On November 17, 2013, an EF2 tornado with winds up to 122 mph crossed the area on a 12.9-mile path, damaging homes and injuring three people. Less than two years later, on June 22, 2015, an EF3 tornado touched down near Morris and moved into Coal City with winds that the National Weather Service estimated at 160 mph, damaging and destroying homes and businesses. It was described as the most powerful tornado to hit the region since the 1990 Plainfield storm. Some yard trees in town were planted to replace storm losses, and some of the older survivors still carry damage from those days.

What storm-damaged trees look like years later

A tree that survived a tornado or a severe windstorm may look fine from the street and still be a problem. Damage tends to show up slowly:

• Torn branch stubs that were never cleaned up, now rotting back into the trunk
• Cracks in the main fork that have widened over the years
• One-sided crowns where half the tree was stripped and the other half is now overweight
• Root damage from a tree that was rocked but not uprooted, showing up as a slow lean or a dying top
• Dead tops on trees that never recovered

If you have a tree that came through 2013 or 2015 and you are not sure about it, we can look at it and tell you whether it can stay with some pruning or should come down.

Newer trees, newer problems

Trees planted to replace storm losses are now 10 years old or so. That is the age when structural pruning helps the most, and when poor choices start to show. Fast-growing replacement trees with tight, narrow forks are the ones most likely to split in the next storm. Removing a badly formed young tree and planting a better one is sometimes the smarter long-term move.

Who we work for here

Coal City had 5,705 residents and 2,418 housing units in the 2020 Census. Census QuickFacts reports a 76.9% owner-occupied rate, a median owner-occupied value of about $201,600, and 21.9% of residents 65 or older. That is a lot of long-time owners, many of them older, who need the heavy work done for them. We handle the cutting, chipping, stump grinding and cleanup, and we explain each line of the estimate.

After the next storm

If a storm drops a tree or a big limb: 1. Stay away from downed lines; treat them as live and call the utility. 2. Photograph the damage before anything is moved, for insurance. 3. Call (779) 324-4241 and tell us what came down and what it is resting on. 4. We will come out, make it safe and give you a written price for the rest.

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