Storm damage and fallen trees in Hervey Bay
If someone is hurt or trapped, call 000. Assume any fallen power line is live, stay well away and call 000 or Ergon Energy. For a tree on the house or blocking your way out, call the SES. Keep people and pets away from broken limbs still hanging in the canopy.
Tree removal in Hervey Bay: what's local
Hands off street trees
Fraser Coast Regional Council says it is against the local laws to damage or interfere with a street tree. For concerns or pruning requests, ring council.
Council land is watched
Council treats poisoning, removal, ringbarking and pruning or lopping of trees on council land without its approval as illegal vegetation damage. Its local laws allow signage, fines and replanting orders at the offender's expense.
Big old figs on the register
Council's significant tree register lists weeping figs at Seafront Oval and Main Street in Pialba and on the Esplanade at Point Vernon, a kauri pine at the Hervey Bay Library and a pink tabebuia at the Boat Harbour Drive roundabout.
Three metres from the pole
Council says plants must be at least three metres from power poles, and points residents to Ergon's Plant Smart search for power line friendly species. Ergon Energy runs the network here.
What does storm season mean for Hervey Bay trees?
Fraser Coast Regional Council lists cyclones and severe weather among the region's risks, and says the region has seen severe weather including flash flooding and tornadoes. You don't need a named cyclone to bring down a big limb.
Council's storm season advice is to trim trees and branches that overhang the home, keep gutters and downpipes clear and check the roof. Queensland's cyclone season officially runs from 1 November to 30 April, so the months before then are the time to book anything big.
Ask for the work to follow AS 4373: deadwood out, the crown thinned and balanced, nothing lopped back to stubs. Lopped trees grow back bushy and poorly attached, which is the opposite of what you want before a blow.
Tree removal in Hervey Bay: good to know
Fraser Coast residents can take up to 4m3 or 1 tonne of clean green waste at no charge to any council waste facility except Aramara Transfer Station. Branches must be no longer than 1.2 metres and no more than 40 cm in diameter, and council lists tree trunks and stumps as green waste too.
For its storm season clean-up, council takes sorted green waste, so that's a good time to clear what's been piling up behind the shed. Mulch is sold at the Nikenbah waste facility.
Tree removal permits in Hervey Bay
On your own block, it can depend on the lot. The Fraser Coast Planning Scheme 2014 sets the zones and overlays, and council's interactive planning mapping shows the zone, overlay and local plan maps for your address.
Queensland adds state rules for protected native plants and marine plants. Our Queensland tree permit guide covers those. Before anything is removed, check the mapping and ring council, including for a tree that's dead or storm damaged.
Common tree jobs in Hervey Bay
Pre-storm pruning of trees over roofs, removals of trees planted too close to the house or the power pole, palm clean-ups and stump grinding once a tree is gone. For roots near pipes and cables, Fraser Coast Regional Council suggests contacting Before You Dig Australia first. Our stump grinding page explains what's involved.
Hiring an arborist in Hervey Bay
Walk the yard before November and look for limbs over the roof and anything growing within three metres of a power pole. Check council's planning mapping before booking a removal, keep your hands off street trees and trees on council land, and line the green waste up with council's storm season clean-up.