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Look Up!  Don't Lose a Limb! won the 2005 Urban Forestry Community Forestry award.  Read more about it here...

Did you know that on average, large vehicles damage 3 street trees each week in the City of Fort Worth? That is 156 trees a year. Now consider that this only takes into account the ones that are actually reported. Are your trees safe?
Look Up! Don’t Lose A Limb!

Most people walk by trees on their property without really looking up at them. The focus of Forestry’s Look Up! Don’t Lose A Limb! campaign is to remind you to check your street trees for proper clearance to avoid damage. By taking a few seconds to look up at your trees, you can check for low limbs and/or early signs of damage.

How Low Is “Low?”

The City's Forestry Section prunes trees that overhang the street to a 14-foot clearance to prevent damage to trees or vehicles and to provide access for emergency vehicles.  If you believe that a limb hangs below the 14-foot clearance, report the low limb to Forestry at 817-871-5738.  Forestry staff can inspect the trees and determine the proper course of action.  This service is free of charge.  If you have your trees trimmed by a tree service, ask them to prune the trees to a height of 14 feet above the street.  By taking the time to look up, you can protect your street trees from damage.

Check street trees for a 14-foot clearance.  This is more than twice the height of a 6-foot tall person.

What Does The Damage Look Like?

There are several easy ways to identify tree damage that has been caused by traffic. Early stages of damage include:

• Scraped or missing bark on the bottom of the branch.

• A small crack at the base of the branch, where it is attached to the trunk.

If time goes by and corrective action isn’t taken, the damage can become worse. You may see:

• Broken or hanging limbs

• Large, exposed wounds on the trunk where a low limb broke off

• Cracked and/or split trees

Report street trees that show any of the above signs to Forestry at 817-871-5738.
Place Carts Properly

A final, simple way to prevent damage to street trees is to place trash, recycling and yard carts properly at the curb. Place carts so that they are:

• As far away from trees as possible, with the handle facing the house and the serial number facing the street
  
  
• At least 2 feet from utility poles, parked cars, mailboxes or other objects that can be damaged by the collection truck’s mechanical arm
  
  
• A few inches from the curb or edge of the street, but NOT in the street

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Remember…Look Up! Don’t Lose a Limb!

Emergency Situations

Cracked or broken limbs endangering the public, fallen trees or limbs blocking a street, and trees which have blown over and are leaning against a house, vehicle or fence are considered emergencies.  Immediately report these situations to Forestry.

Contact Forestry

To report low limbs, request tree work, or report a hazardous tree growing on city-owned property, provide as much of the following information as possible:

• Name

• Daytime phone number

• Address of the tree being reported, including street name and number

• Mapso location, if known

• Type of damage to tree:  low limb, broken limb, limb down, tree down

• Type of hazard the tree is creating:  blocked street, reduced visibility, uprooting, fallen on property, etc.

• When damage to the tree occurred

Call Forestry at 817.871.5738 to request tree work or report a hazardous tree.

For after hour emergencies (weekends, holidays, and after 4:30pm weekdays): 817.871.8100.

For more Forestry contact information, click here.