On the roof, across the drive, hung up over the porch — one call connects you with a local crew that works storm and hazard trees in Danville and Pittsylvania County. And because this is a mill town that always kept honest books, this page also posts the figures: what removal should run, who hauls the wood, and what to watch for after a storm.
This site is a call-connection line and local guide, not the crew itself — details in the footer ledger.
Acct. 100 — The Work
Danville grew up under its trees. The neighborhoods the mill era built — Schoolfield, North Danville, the Old West End — have had a century for their oaks, maples, and tall pines to get big, and the housing under them is older than most of the trees' insurance adjusters. When one lets go, this is the work:
A tree on the house, the truck, the line to the meter, or blocking the only way out of the driveway. The first cuts are about weight and safety, not tidiness — tarping and board-up come right behind them.
A new lean after a wet, windy night, lifted soil at the roots, or a trunk hung up in another tree. These are the jobs most worth leaving alone — a hung tree is a loaded spring.
Cracked leaders, widow-maker limbs caught in the canopy, deadwood shedding over where the cars park. Rope-and-lower work, not a ladder-and-hope job.
The mill-era willow oak that now owns the whole backyard, the pine dying from the top down. Planned removals cost far less than emergencies — the cheapest day to take a bad tree down is a calm one.
Grinding below grade so you can seed or mow over it. Priced as its own line — always ask whether the stump is in the figure or extra.
Multiple trees down across a yard, an alley, or a fence run shared with the neighbor — sorted, cut, chipped, and hauled in one mobilization instead of three.
Acct. 200 — The Method
One call to (434) 555-0173 connects you with a local crew. Tell them what fell, what it's touching, and whether any line is involved. If a power line is in the tree, hang up and call 911 and the utility first — no crew touches an energized line.
A walk-around and a written total — haul-away included — before any cutting is the local standard. If a crew won't put a number on it first, or wants a big cash deposit, call the line back and get connected with another.
The account closes when the tree is off the structure, the wood is chipped or hauled, and the yard is raked out. Paying on completion is how careful outfits work — insist on it, and photograph everything for your insurance file.
Acct. 300 — The Ledger
Posted so you can check any bid against the book. Figures are national industry ranges — your tree, your lot, and your access set the real number, which is why a firm written quote matters.
| Small tree, under 30 ft | $150–$450 |
| Medium tree, 30–60 ft | $450–$1,200 |
| Large tree, 60–80 ft | $800–$1,500 |
| Very large, over 80 ft | $1,000–$2,000 |
| Emergency call-out, typical | $1,250–$6,150 |
| Tree on the house | $1,500–$6,350 |
| After-hours / storm premium | 2–3× standard |
| Stump grinding, first stump | from ~$100 |
| Crane on a tight lot | adds $500+ |
Sources: This Old House, Angi & GoTreeQuotes cost surveys — industry ranges, not quotes. Hardwoods, tight access, and anything touching a structure push toward the top of a range.
Rules per Virginia Dept. of Forestry and Pittsylvania County; city collection details change — the phone numbers above are the authority, not this page.
Danville has seen real storm work — the remnants of Hurricane Michael in October 2018 put the Dan River into historic flood and straight-line winds dropped trees across the city, and another round of storms tore through in August 2024. Every storm also blows in a few crews you should not hire. Watch for:
— filed by danvilletree.com, from BBB & state consumer-office storm-scam alerts
Acct. 400 — The Territory
Everything inside the city first — the Old West End and its big street oaks, North Danville, Schoolfield's mill-village blocks, Forest Hills, and the River District downtown. Around 41,500 people live under Danville's canopy, and Pittsylvania County — Virginia's largest county by land area — wraps the whole city in farm and timber country.
Crews work both sides of the state line. If your tree fell in Caswell or Rockingham County, N.C., you're still in the territory — call and say where you are.
| Place | ~Miles | Bearing |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Hermon | ~5 | N |
| Blairs | ~7 | N |
| Ringgold | ~7 | NE |
| Milton, N.C. | ~10 | SE |
| Chatham | ~17 | N |
| Yanceyville, N.C. | ~18 | S |
| Eden, N.C. | ~21 | SW |
| Gretna | ~28 | N |
| Reidsville, N.C. | ~29 | SW |
| South Boston | ~32 | E |
Acct. 500 — Correspondence
Nationally, emergency work typically lands between $1,250 and $6,150 and prices at roughly two to three times a standard removal — after-hours and storm-surge weeks run higher. A routine removal runs about $150–$450 for a small tree up to $1,000–$2,000 for one over 80 feet. Those are industry ranges, not quotes: the only number that counts is a firm written figure after a crew walks your yard. Get one free by calling (434) 555-0173.
People out and counted first. If any wire is down or in the tree, call 911 and the utility's outage line (Danville runs its own municipal electric utility, Danville Utilities) before anything else. Then the tree crew — (434) 555-0173 connects you with one — and then your insurance company. Photograph everything before any cutting starts; adjusters want to see the tree where it landed.
Usually, when a healthy tree comes down in a storm onto a covered structure — the house, the garage, a fence. A tree that drops harmlessly in the yard often isn't covered, and a tree the insurer decides was visibly dead or neglected can be denied. Policies also cap parts of the debris bill, so read yours or ask your agent, keep every photo, and get the crew's written figure into the claim file.
Danville Public Works collects household yard debris on your regular collection day, but there are limits on how much and what size — a whole storm-felled oak is beyond what curbside collection is built for, and debris cut by a paid contractor is typically the contractor's to haul. The city also runs a yard-waste composting site off Airport Road for self-haulers. Rules change, so confirm with Public Works at 434-799-5245 — and if a crew does the work, make sure hauling is in the quoted figure.
Not without checking two sets of rules. Statewide, from February 15 through April 30, Virginia's 4 p.m. burning law bars open burning before 4 p.m. within 300 feet of woods or dry grass — violations are a Class 3 misdemeanor with fines up to $500, plus suppression costs if it gets away. Inside Danville city limits, burning is separately regulated, so ask the fire marshal before striking a match; in the county, call the Fire Marshal's office at 434-432-7700. Most people find chipping and hauling cheaper than the risk.
Treat a new lean as one, especially with this area's older, taller trees. Look for lifted or cracked soil on the side away from the lean, exposed roots, or a trunk resting in another tree — saturated ground after the kind of soaking rain the Dan River valley gets lets a root plate peel loose days after the wind stops. Keep people and cars out from under it and have it assessed quickly; a controlled removal is a fraction of the cost of the same tree on your roof.
It depends on the storm — after a big blow, every crew in Southside Virginia is running a list, and true make-safe emergencies (tree on an occupied house, blocked driveway, hazard over a walkway) get worked first. Calling early and describing the hazard plainly moves you up the list honestly. For non-emergencies, waiting a few weeks after a storm often brings the price back down.
ONE CALL · A LOCAL CREW · A FIRM FIGURE BEFORE SAWS START
Call (434) 555-0173