Karen and Nicole in the Silver Terrace neighborhood, September 2005.
We can conduct unscheduled emergency tree care visits during the first three years after we’ve planted a street tree. To report a small fallen or leaning street tree, please contact our Tree Care Team by phone at 415-404-2760 or by email at treecare@fuf.net. We can only upright small trees, meaning their trunks are 2 inches or less in diameter and/or they’re no more than 15 feet high. Our average response time is a few days to two weeks. Please keep in mind that we are a nonprofit with limited administrative support and spend most of our time in the field responding to calls and keeping up on our scheduled maintenance. We appreciate your patience!
For emergencies involving larger trees, or for hazards such as a tree interfering with a power line, contact the city’s customer service center by calling 311 from any 415 area code phone, or by using the SF311 mobile app, or by visiting the SF311 website.
NOTE: If you’re not sure whether a fallen or leaning tree is too big for FUF to handle, please contact us first (and send us a photo if possible). We’ve heard reports that trees that we could have saved have been removed after they were reported to SF311. Thank you!
For assistance with backyard trees, consider calling a professional arborist.
Tips to save your small tree after a storm
If you want to upright your own tree and secure it with stakes, stakes and stake pounders are also available from Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply, 415-695-9530, or The Urban Farmer Store, 415-661-2204.
Until your tree can be uprighted, move it off the sidewalk as much as possible; the city has the authority to remove a tree that is obstructing the path of travel. Keep the exposed roots covered and moist.
Water the tree after it has been uprighted to prevent shock. Continue watering on a regular basis to encourage new root growth.
For larger storm damage, see the Arbor Day Foundation’s Storm Recovery resources.
Prevent your next emergency call
Prevent tree emergencies by checking your tree’s hardware periodically, by keeping tree ties loose to encourage root strength and expansion, and by regularly watering it. See our Stakes, Ties & Fencing and Pruning pages for details.
Become an emergency tree care volunteer
We always need more emergency tree care volunteers! See our Volunteer page to find out how you can help.