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Storm and Emergency Tree Removal in Denham Springs, LA

If a tree is on your house or across the power lines anywhere in Livingston Parish, get everyone away from it first, call 911 if anyone is hurt or a line is down near people, and report the line to DEMCO at 1-844-693-3626 or Entergy at 800-368-3749, whichever company is on your bill (checked Nov 11, 2026). Then photograph the damage for your homeowner's insurer before anything is cut. Sawing starts after the lines are dead or clear. This page covers those steps, who clears city, parish and state roads, what past storms did to trees here, and the Louisiana laws on storm prices and door-to-door sales.

A big oak pulled out by the roots in a storm, its root plate of dark clay standing on edge beside a hole half full of muddy water, with an undamaged brick house behind
A big oak pulled out by the roots in a storm, its root plate of dark clay on edge beside a hole half full of muddy water. The brick house behind is undamaged.

The first hour, in order

  1. Move everyone, pets included, away from the part of the house the tree is on. A trunk lying across a roof may settle further as limbs give way or the soil softens.
  2. Look for wires before you go near it. Assume any line touching the tree is live. DEMCO's advice is to "avoid touching a tree that is growing into or near" a power line, and Entergy warns that limbs and downed vegetation can hide electrical hazards (checked Nov 11, 2026).
  3. Call for help in the right order. 911 for injuries, fire, or a line down in a road or yard where people are. Then the utility (below).
  4. Take photos and video of the fallen tree, the roof, every damaged room and anything else hit, from several angles, before anything is moved.
  5. Call your insurer and get a claim number before the tree work is agreed.
  6. Get the tree work quoted in writing, including what happens to the wood and whether the price covers the tree only or roof tarping as well.

Reporting downed lines and outages

DEMCO, the electric co-op, and Entergy Louisiana both serve parts of Livingston Parish. The name on your bill tells you which one serves your home (checked Nov 11, 2026):

  • DEMCO. Call 1-844-MyDEMCO (1-844-693-3626) and choose option 1, text OUTAGE to 225-261-1177, or use the MyDEMCO app. For anything life-threatening, call 911 first. DEMCO's manual says that after major storms, debris from trees tangled in its lines is left on site, and logs can be left for firewood on request.
  • Entergy. Call 800-ENTERGY (800-368-3749). Entergy says it doesn't pick up debris from storm damage, and that the service line from the house to the first pole is the owner's to keep clear.

Louisiana's power line law bars any work that could bring a person or equipment within 10 feet of a high-voltage line until the line's owner has had at least 48 hours' notice, weekends and holidays excluded, and safety arrangements are agreed (La. R.S. 45:142 and 45:143, checked Nov 11, 2026). After a storm, the practical answer is that nobody cuts a tree tangled in a line until the utility has made it safe.

A tree across the road

Who clears it depends on whose road it is. If it's blocking traffic or tangled in wires, call 911 (numbers checked Nov 11, 2026):

RoadWho to call
Denham Springs city streetStreet Department, (225) 667-8352, Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Its duties include "Removing debris from streets."
Walker city streetLimbs or trees that aren't dangerous: Public Works, 225.665.2467. A dangerous tree or blocked road: 225.664.3123, and wait for the recording to finish to reach the after-hours line. The city says an employee calls back within an hour.
Parish roadLivingston Parish Public Works maintains more than 833 miles of roads but publishes no phone for this. The parish's homeland security office is at 225-686-3066.
State highwayDOTD maintains it. Call 911 for anything blocking a lane. Trimming or cutting in DOTD's right-of-way later needs its vegetation maintenance permit.

A tree that fell from your yard into the road is still a hazard you'll want handled fast, but crews may need the right-of-way owner's say before taking down what's left standing in the strip along the road.

What storms have done to trees here

Every storm below brought a federal disaster declaration that named Livingston Parish (OpenFEMA, checked Nov 11, 2026). The tree details come from the National Weather Service office for New Orleans and Baton Rouge and from the utilities.

  1. Sep 1, 2008Hurricane Gustav

    Landfall as a Category 2 near Cocodrie, with a peak wind of about 91 mph reported at Ryan Field in Baton Rouge. "Power was knocked out for days, some areas longer, across this region, with numerous trees down." A 45-year-old woman in Livingston Parish was killed when high winds toppled a large tree onto her mobile home, and in East Baton Rouge Parish a tree falling into a house killed two people and injured one.

  2. Aug 2012Hurricane Isaac

    Entergy's preliminary damage count for Louisiana listed 5,500 spans of wire with trees on them and 6,200 damaged poles (Sep 2, 2012). Its parish table noted that high water was still restricting access to Livingston Parish.

  3. Aug 2016The flood

    The Amite crested at 46.20 feet at Denham Springs, more than 17 feet over flood stage. The tree damage from a flood comes slowly: LSU AgCenter's Dan Gill wrote weeks later that root rot and drowning are "the greatest damage posed to landscape plants caused by flooding."

  4. Feb 7, 2017Three tornadoes in the parish

    An EF-3 near Watson (140 mph) snapped numerous hardwoods, including a large live oak. An EF-2 starting near Killian snapped and uprooted hardwoods onto a home, a shed and several vehicles. An EF-1 near Montpelier snapped several softwood trees along Greer Lane.

  5. Feb 2021Ice storm

    FEMA's declaration lists it as a severe ice storm. Entergy warned during it that "limbs and trees can give way days after a storm passes."

  6. Aug 29, 2021Hurricane Ida

    Landfall as a Category 4 near Port Fourchon with 150 mph winds. In Livingston Parish, "Ida's winds downed thousands of trees and power poles across the parish," a few structures were "completely destroyed by falling trees," hundreds of roads were impassable, and about 85% of electric customers lost power at the peak. DEMCO said, "Countless trees took down critical DEMCO infrastructure."

  7. Sep 2024Hurricane Francine

    Tropical-storm winds across the parish, with trees and lines down and most damage in the southeastern half. "Falling trees caused damage to several houses and blocked roadways."

Damage that shows up after the storm

A tree that's still standing the next morning isn't necessarily sound. Look for:

  • Hanging limbs caught in the crown, which can drop days later.
  • A new lean, or soil heaved up and cracked on one side of the trunk, which means the roots have moved.
  • Split trunks and torn bark where a big limb tore out, which open the tree to decay. Water oak, which Clemson Extension writers quoted by LSU AgCenter say "does not resist decay well," is especially at risk.
  • Pines that brown out in the weeks or months after. LSU AgCenter says Ips beetles go after pines stressed by windstorm damage, and that infested pines should be removed.
  • Slow decline after flooding, from roots that sat in saturated soil.

The dead or leaning trees guide covers these signs in more detail.

Photos, your insurer and the hurricane deductible

Your own homeowner's policy is where damage to your house gets sorted out, so document everything before cleanup and keep every receipt. Ask your insurer what the policy pays toward removing a fallen tree and hauling it, and whether an adjuster needs to see it first.

One Louisiana rule is worth knowing in a busy storm year. Under La. R.S. 22:1337, a separate named-storm or hurricane deductible applies on an annual basis to all named-storm or hurricane losses, for policies issued or renewed since January 1, 2010. If a second storm hits in the same calendar year after you've already met that deductible, the insurer may apply the greater of whatever remains of it or your all-perils deductible (FindLaw copy, checked Nov 11, 2026). In plain terms, a homeowner who paid the hurricane deductible in an earlier storm that year may owe less on the next one. Your policy and your insurer have the final word.

Storm prices and crews at the door

Price gouging. During a state of emergency declared by the governor or the parish president, La. R.S. 29:732 says prices for goods and services in the emergency area may not exceed what's ordinarily charged for comparable goods and services in the same market area, except for increases from commodity markets, regional or national market trends, or reasonable expenses and business risk. It applies for an initial period of up to 30 days, renewable only if a later proclamation says so, and each sale or offer in violation is a separate offense (FindLaw copy, checked Nov 11, 2026). Report concerns to the Louisiana Attorney General's Consumer Protection hotline, 1-800-351-4889 (checked Nov 11, 2026).

Sales at your door. Louisiana lets a consumer cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight on the third business day after signing it, including cash sales of $25 or more (La. R.S. 9:3538 and 9:2711.1, checked Nov 11, 2026). There's an exception that matters after storms: the right doesn't apply when you asked for the work without delay because of an emergency and the seller, in good faith, substantially began the work before you gave notice. The hiring guide explains the notice the seller has to give you.

The brush pile afterward

Storm cleanup leaves more wood than any normal week of trash pickup can handle. Waste Pro in Denham Springs lists storm and natural disaster debris among the things it doesn't accept, and Walker's flyer says Waste Management won't collect debris from a contractor or tree service (checked Nov 11, 2026). After a declared disaster, the city or parish announces its own debris rules at the time; after Francine, FEMA's declaration covered debris removal in Livingston Parish under its Public Assistance program (GOHSEP notice, checked Nov 11, 2026).

Don't burn storm debris. After the 2016 flood, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality urged flood-affected residents not to burn debris, and its secretary said, "It is illegal to burn solid waste" (checked Nov 11, 2026). The limits on burning yard waste are on the rules page.

Storm questions answered

Can I cut up a tree that's lying on the power line to my house?

No. Call the utility first. Entergy says it can disconnect the service line temporarily so the tree can be removed; DEMCO handles outage calls at 1-844-693-3626 (checked Nov 11, 2026). Cutting a tree under tension next to a live wire is how people get hurt.

The neighbor's tree fell on my house. Who pays?

Start with your own insurer and your claim number. Louisiana's Civil Code covers who can demand that a neighbor's tree be trimmed or removed, but not who pays for storm damage, and this site didn't find an official Louisiana source on fallen-tree claims to quote. Your insurer will tell you how your policy handles it.

A crew knocked on my door offering to remove the tree today. Should I sign?

Get the price, the scope and the company's name and mailing address in writing first. If you sign at home, the three-business-day cancel right may apply, unless you asked for emergency work and they've substantially started. See the hiring guide.

Does emergency tree work cost more?

National guides say so: HomeGuide lists emergency or storm removal at $150 to $250 an hour, and Angi says an urgent job can run as high as $5,000 (both checked Nov 11, 2026). After a declared emergency, the price-gouging law above applies.

Storm-damage requests made here are passed to one independent contractor working in Livingston Parish. The site sends no crews of its own.

Where this comes from

Limbs on the roof, a lean after heavy rain, or a trunk across the yard?

Phone or use the request form. It goes to a single independent contractor working around Denham Springs, Walker and the rest of Livingston Parish, who comes by to see the tree and writes up what the job will cost.

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