Utah
Tree Removal and Tree Service in Utah
Most Utahns live in a narrow strip at the foot of the Wasatch Range, where cold air occasionally pours out of the canyons at hurricane speed. The September 2020 windstorm uprooted thousands of trees in a morning and changed how the region thinks about what it plants.
September 8, 2020
A sharp cold front pushed air through the Wasatch canyons and across Davis, Weber and Salt Lake counties with gusts near 100 mph. It was still summer, trees were in full leaf, and lawns were soft from irrigation.
Blue spruce went over by the hundred with a flat plate of roots attached. Large Siberian elms, poplars and old maples followed. Salt Lake City alone lost well over a thousand public trees, and the count on private property was several times that.
Downslope east winds return to the same neighborhoods every few years, strongest near the canyon mouths in Farmington, Centerville, Bountiful and the east bench. Heavy snow is the other recurring hazard, particularly early and late storms that catch trees in leaf.
Park strip trees and city permits
Utah has no arborist license and no state permit for removing trees on private property. Cities regulate the park strip, the planted area between sidewalk and curb.
In Salt Lake City, trees in the park strip are public trees managed by the Urban Forestry Division. Residents may not prune, remove or plant them without a permit, and the city does the pruning and removal itself in most cases. Other Wasatch Front cities assign park strip tree care to the adjoining owner while still requiring a permit for removal and limiting which species may be planted.
Private yard trees are generally unregulated. Homes against the foothills fall in the wildland-urban interface, where local codes and fire agencies call for fuel reduction around structures.
Alkaline soil, drought and what they do to trees
- Iron chlorosis
- Leaves turn yellow with green veins on silver maple, red maple, pin oak and others. Utah's high-pH soil locks up iron. Affected trees decline for years.
- Shallow rooting
- Frequent, light lawn watering keeps roots in the top few inches. That is one reason so many spruce tipped in 2020.
- Drought dieback
- Watering restrictions in dry years show up as dead tops the next summer.
- Salt
- Road salt and salty irrigation water burn leaf margins and thin roadside trees.
How Wasatch Front trees perform in wind and snow
| Tree | Wind | Snow load |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado blue spruce | Poor on irrigated lawn. Uproots whole. | Good |
| Siberian elm | Poor. Large limbs and trunks snap. | Poor |
| Lombardy and other poplars | Poor. Short-lived and decayed by 30 years. | Poor |
| Norway and silver maple | Fair. Depends on structure and age. | Poor when in leaf |
| London plane and bur oak | Good | Good |
| Gambel oak | Good. Native scrub oak on the benches. | Good, but a fire fuel near houses |
Trees to have checked before the next east wind
A tall spruce in a regularly watered lawn
Especially one that rocks at the base in a breeze.
Any poplar or willow more than 25 years old
Assume internal decay until shown otherwise.
A large tree whose roots were cut for a driveway or sprinkler line
Support on that side is gone.
Trees left exposed after neighbors' trees came down
They now take the full force of the wind.
After a windstorm on the Wasatch Front
Stay away from downed lines
Assume every wire is live and report it to the utility.
Identify whose tree it is
Park strip trees are reported to the city. Yard trees are yours.
Photograph before cleanup
Insurers want to see the tree on the structure. See does insurance cover tree removal.
Prioritize
Trees on buildings first, then blocked driveways, then everything else. Stump work can wait weeks.
Utah tree service questions
Who owns the park strip tree in Salt Lake City?
The city. Its Urban Forestry Division prunes and removes park strip trees and issues permits for planting. Residents should not cut them.
Why did so many spruce trees fall in the 2020 Utah windstorm?
They carry dense evergreen foliage, and on irrigated lawns their roots stay wide and shallow. Soft soil and 100 mph gusts were more than those root plates could resist.
Can a yellow maple be fixed in Utah soil?
Iron treatments, either trunk injections or soil applications, green it up for a year or two. The condition returns because the soil chemistry does not change. Many owners eventually replace the tree with a tolerant species.
Does Utah require a permit to remove a tree on my own lot?
No state permit exists, and most cities do not regulate private yard trees. Park strip trees and development sites are the exceptions.
Tree service in Utah, by phone
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