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 keeps the record straight: what actually drives the cost, 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 shade trees 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 shade tree that now owns the whole backyard, the one 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) 436-1322 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 — not with made-up figures, but with what actually moves a number, and with the one dollar figure on this page that has a real citation behind it: Danville's own ordinance penalty.
| Size & height of the tree | Bigger driver |
| Lean, lodging & structural risk | Bigger driver |
| Proximity to the house or a line | Bigger driver |
| Equipment access to the site | Bigger driver |
| Stump grinding | Ask: included? |
| Debris haul-away | Ask: included? |
| After-hours / storm timing | Often higher |
No dollar ranges are posted here — no reliable, sourced pricing specific to Danville was found. What's above is what to ask a crew about and what a bid weighs; the only number that counts is a firm written figure after a crew walks the property.
The fine above is the one figure on this page with a citation behind it. Everything else about collection, hauling, and cost is guidance, not a quote.
Danville has seen real storm wind before: the derecho of June 29, 2012 brought straight-line winds of roughly 70–90 mph through the region, and one Danville resident was injured by a falling tree limb (WFXR). More recently, the remnants of Hurricane Helene spawned an EF-2 tornado near Dry Fork on September 27, 2024, injuring one person and damaging roughly 30 structures — Dry Fork is in Pittsylvania County, adjacent to Danville, not inside the city itself (Cardinal News). Every storm also blows in a few crews you should not hire. Watch for:
— general precautions after any storm, not tied to one specific report
Acct. 400 — The Territory
Everything inside the city first — the Old West End, North Danville, Schoolfield's mill-village blocks, Forest Hills, and the River District downtown. Danville is an independent city, not part of Pittsylvania County — it's surrounded by the county to the north and east and borders Caswell County, North Carolina, to the south. (Wikipedia)
Calls also connect you with crews serving nearby Pittsylvania County — the towns of Chatham, Gretna, and Hurt; the unincorporated communities of Blairs, Ringgold, and Keeling; and Mount Hermon, a census-designated place about three miles northwest of the Danville city limits.
| Place | Status | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Chatham | County seat | Pittsylvania Co. |
| Gretna | Incorporated town | Pittsylvania Co. |
| Hurt | Incorporated town | Pittsylvania Co. |
| Blairs | Unincorporated | Pittsylvania Co. |
| Ringgold | Unincorporated | Pittsylvania Co. |
| Keeling | Unincorporated | Pittsylvania Co. |
| Mount Hermon | CDP | ~3 mi NW of city limits |
Acct. 500 — Correspondence
No reliable, sourced pricing specific to Danville is posted on this page — a fair bid depends on the size and lean of the tree, how close it is to a structure or a line, how easily a crew can get equipment onto the site, and whether stump grinding and debris haul-away are included. After-hours and storm-week timing tends to push a bid higher. The only number that counts is a firm written figure after a crew walks your yard. Get one free by calling (434) 436-1322.
People out and counted first. If any wire is down or in the tree, call 911 and the utility's outage line — Danville Utilities is a municipally owned electric utility, one of only a handful in Virginia (Virginia Places) — before anything else. Then the tree crew — (434) 436-1322 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.
Maybe — but the specifics aren't posted here. Curbside and yard-waste collection rules, size limits, and schedules are set by the City of Danville and can change, so confirm current details directly with the city rather than relying on this page. If a paid crew does the work instead, debris is typically the contractor's to haul — make sure hauling is spelled out in the quoted figure before saws start.
Per a 2016 Virginia Tech summary of Danville's ordinance, no one may remove a tree or shrub from city-owned land or a street, sidewalk, or alley right-of-way without authorization from the Director of Public Works, and a hazard tree on private property gets written notice with 15 days to appeal. A hazard-tree violation runs $5–$500 per day. This is a several-years-old summary, not necessarily today's exact code — confirm current rules with Danville Public Works. (source)
Not automatically. In Virginia, liability for a fallen tree generally turns on negligence, not simply on whose property it grew on — a healthy tree that comes down in a storm is usually treated as an act of nature, while a tree the owner knew (or should have known) was hazardous is a different story. This is general guidance, not legal advice — talk to your insurer or an attorney about your specific situation. (source)
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 can let a root plate work loose days after the wind stops, not just during the storm itself. Keep people and cars out from under it and have it assessed quickly; a controlled removal is safer and simpler than dealing with the same tree once it's down on its own.
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) 436-1322