A dead ash tree is not just an eyesore that can wait. Brittle ash fails without the warning other trees give — and it gets harder and dearer to remove every season.
Call (971) 518-3780An ash tree killed by emerald ash borer dries out and goes brittle far faster than most species. Brittle limbs do not bend under load — they shatter, and they do it with little warning. That is why experienced climbers will not work aloft in a compromised ash tree, and why dead ash removals are done from a bucket truck or a crane, which typically adds 25 to 60 percent to the cost of the same removal done while the tree was alive. If you have a dead ash tree within reach of a house, a drive, a fence or a power service in Salem, it is a scheduling priority, not a spring project. Call (971) 518-3780 for a free hazard assessment.
Tell us roughly how big it is, how much canopy is left, and what it would hit. You will get an honest read on urgency — including if the answer is that it can wait. Call (971) 518-3780.
Salem does not have to imagine what a bad winter does to compromised trees. On February 12, 2021, a single freezing-rain event cost the city an estimated 17.6 percent of its tree canopy — more than a thousand acres. Around 1,200 city trees were leveled and over 5,000 damaged, and roughly 100,000 Marion County customers lost power. January 2024 brought a repeat.
A dead ash tree is exactly what an ice load is looking for. Every twig gains weight, brittle wood has no give, and the failures happen in the dark in the middle of a storm when nobody is available to respond. Dealing with a dead ash in September is a scheduled job at a scheduled price. Dealing with it in February is an emergency call-out with a tree already on something.
If an ash tree is already down, leaning on a structure, or hung up in another tree, treat it as an emergency: stay clear, do not cut anything, and call. Trees under load behave in ways that are not visible from the ground.
Free hazard assessment across Salem, Keizer, Silverton, Woodburn and Stayton — and an honest answer about how urgent it really is.
(971) 518-3780More dangerous than a dead tree of most other species. Ash killed by emerald ash borer dries and goes brittle quickly, and brittle limbs shatter rather than bend — they come apart under ice or wind loads with little warning. It is a documented enough problem in the trade that experienced climbers decline to work aloft in a compromised ash tree at all.
There is no reliable number, and that is the point. Some stand for years; some drop major limbs within a season. What is predictable is the direction — a dead ash gets less sound and more expensive to remove every year it stands, and the Willamette Valley's winter ice storms are the test it eventually fails.
That is a question for your insurer and, if it matters enough, an attorney — not for a tree company, and anyone who answers it confidently is guessing. What is worth knowing is that a visibly dead tree is a different conversation from a healthy tree that failed unexpectedly. If you have a dead ash tree near a property line, call your insurance carrier and ask them directly.
Yes — that is emergency work, and it is handled differently from a scheduled removal. A tree hung up on a roof, a fence or a power service is under load in ways that are not obvious from the ground. Do not go near it and do not cut anything. Call, describe what is touching what, and stay clear until someone with rigging gets there.
Substantially. A living ash tree comes down with conventional climbing and rigging. A dead one needs a bucket truck or a crane, more crew, and more time, which commonly adds 25 to 60 percent to the same removal. If your ash tree is infested and you are not treating it, removing it while it is still green is the cheapest version of an outcome you are getting either way.