Emergencies on the Strand come in two sizes. The small ones are every week in summer: an afternoon thunderstorm's downburst drops a laurel oak limb on a roof in Pine Lakes, lightning splits a loblolly in Carolina Forest and leaves half of it hanging over the screened porch, a water oak that was leaning for years finally goes over onto a fence and a golf cart. The big ones come with names. Matthew put a 74 mph gust on the airport in October 2016 and an EF0 tornado through North Myrtle Beach; Florence sat over the Carolinas for three days in September 2018, gusted to 77 at Cherry Grove, dropped 23 inches of rain on Loris and put 80,000 Grand Strand customers in the dark; Isaias hit 70 at Crescent Beach in 2020; Ian knocked out 70,000 Santee Cooper customers and 20 poles in September 2022; Chantal came ashore at Litchfield Beach at four in the morning in July 2025.
Whatever size, the first job is the same: get the tree off whatever it's on, safely. We answer 24 hours a day, dispatch by priority — a tree into living space first, a tree blocking a driveway or a road second, a hanger over a yard last — and we're honest about where you are in the line after a hurricane, when everyone from Little River to Pawleys is calling at once. We cut the tree off the structure, tarp the hole if the roofer hasn't arrived, clear the driveway, and photograph everything with the date for your insurance. The full cleanup and the stump happen in daylight, usually that week. And after a declared storm, the towns waive their tree permits for emergency removals — Conway's ordinance has a storm waiver written in, Georgetown County exempts post-disaster removals, and Surfside's rewrite requires reporting an emergency removal within seven days — so we document the tree before it's cut, which keeps you clear with the town afterward.
What's included
A person answers, any hour
No voicemail, no callback queue. Call at 2 AM and you talk to someone who dispatches a crew.
Triage after a storm
Trees into living space first, blocked access second, hangers third — and we tell you honestly where you are in line.
Off the house safely
Limbs cut back in sections with the weight controlled so the roof isn't damaged twice.
Power lines
We don't touch a tree on an energized line. Santee Cooper, Horry Electric or Duke clears the line first; then we take the tree.
Photos for the claim and the town
Dated photos before and after, so the removal is documented as mitigation on your claim and as an emergency for the permit office.
Full cleanup in daylight
Chipping, haul-off, stump grinding and the curbside pile handled that week.
Emergency tree service cost in Myrtle Beach, SC
| Job | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency call-out, tree off structure | $500 – $1,500 | Night, weekend or storm; credited toward full removal |
| Hanging limb removal | $250 – $800 | Per limb |
| Tree blocking driveway or road, cleared | $400 – $1,200 | Cut and moved; haul-off separate |
| Full removal after emergency | Quoted in writing | See tree removal |
| Post-hurricane whole-lot cleanup | Quoted | See storm cleanup |
These are 2026 Grand Strand ranges so you can budget. Your written price is itemized — the climb or bucket work, rigging, chipping and haul-off, stump grinding, crane time, the permit for your town — and good for 30 days.
Recent work
Questions we get about emergency tree service
How fast can you get here?
In Myrtle Beach, usually within a couple of hours; Conway, Pawleys and Little River a little longer. After a hurricane, triage applies and it can be a day or more for a hanger that isn't threatening anything. We'll tell you the truth about the line.
Will insurance cover emergency tree removal?
If the tree damaged a covered structure, removing it from the structure is covered as part of the loss and the mitigation; most policies also pay a small amount ($500–$1,000) for removing a tree that fell without hitting anything. We document it either way. Named-storm deductibles in South Carolina are usually a percentage of the dwelling coverage, so check yours.
The tree is on the power line to my house.
Call your utility first and don't go near it: Santee Cooper for Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, Horry Electric (843-369-2211) for most of the county, Duke for its pockets. Santee Cooper will also schedule a free disconnect of your service line so we can work near it. Once it's de-energized or cleared, we take the tree.
Should I cut it myself?
Not a tree on a house, not at night, and not a pine under tension — storm-damaged wood springs. Put a bucket under the leak, keep people out of that room, and call.
Do I need a permit for an emergency removal?
After a declared storm, no — the towns have waivers. On a normal day a tree that's actively failing is a hazard removal, which every town allows; we photograph it before the cut and file the notice afterward (Myrtle Beach wants a notice of completion within five days). Either way, we handle the paperwork.