Chainsaw Safety Gear for Fall and Winter Storm Limb Cleanup

If you are going to cut storm-downed limbs yourself, wear chainsaw chaps, a forestry helmet with a face shield and hearing protection, safety glasses, saw-rated gloves, and sturdy boots, and limit the job to limbs that are already on the ground and not under tension. Anything hanging in a tree, leaning on a roof, tangled in wires, or bent under load is a job for a certified arborist, and anything touching or near a power line is a job for your utility. Read your saw's operator manual before the first cut and follow it over anything written here.

Fall wind, early wet snow, and ice storms bring down more limbs than any other time of year. They also send thousands of homeowners to emergency rooms with chainsaw injuries, most to the legs, hands, and face. Protective gear does not make a chainsaw safe. It reduces how badly a mistake hurts you.

Heavy safety warning: when not to cut

Stop and call a professional if any of these apply:

• A limb is hung up in the tree above you, or still partly attached and hanging.
• A limb is bent, pinned, or springy. Wood under tension can snap back with enough force to break bones when cut. This is how experienced people get hurt.
• Any wire is involved. Treat every downed or sagging line as live. Stay at least 30 feet away and call the utility.
• You would need a ladder. Never run a chainsaw from a ladder or above shoulder height.
• The trunk is cracked or the tree is leaning toward a house, driveway, or road.
• You are tired, alone, or rushed. Work with a second person within sight who knows how to call for help.

Certified arborists carry insurance and rigging gear for exactly these situations. After a big storm they are booked up, but a dangerous hanger can wait until they arrive.

The chainsaw PPE kit

• Chainsaw chaps or saw pants: layers of fibers that jam the chain in a fraction of a second. They protect the front of the legs, where most injuries happen. Replace them after any cut into the fabric.
• Forestry helmet with mesh face shield and ear muffs: protects against falling twigs, kickback, and chips, and saves your hearing. Gas saws run well above the noise level that damages hearing.
• Safety glasses under the face shield: a mesh visor stops chips but not fine sawdust.
• Saw-rated gloves: padded on the back of the left hand on many models, where kickback strikes.
• Steel-toe or cut-resistant boots with good tread.
• Close-fitting clothes; nothing loose that can catch in the chain.

Safe cutting habits for limbs on the ground

1. Clear your work area of brush and tripping hazards, and plan a retreat path.
2. Start the saw on the ground with the chain brake engaged, never drop-starting it.
3. Hold the saw with both hands, thumbs wrapped around the handles, and stand to the side of the cutting line.
4. Cut with the lower part of the bar tip, and never let the upper tip touch wood. That upper quarter of the bar tip is the kickback zone.
5. Cut small sections working from the outer branches toward the main limb, and watch for pieces that shift or roll.
6. Keep the chain sharp and tensioned and the bar oiled; a dull chain grabs and kicks.
7. Set the chain brake every time you move more than a few steps.

Choosing a saw for occasional storm cleanup

For most yards, a cordless chainsaw with a 12 to 16 inch bar handles limbs up to about 8 inches thick on the ground. It is lighter, starts instantly, and has no fuel to store. Battery saws still cut just as fast and kick back just as hard as gas saws, so the same gear and rules apply. Very small one-hand mini saws are sold for pruning; treat them as chainsaws too, with gloves and eye protection. For branches you can reach from the ground under 2 inches, hand loppers or a pruning saw are often safer. See our pole saw guide for higher limbs, with its own safety limits.

After the cutting

Stack wood away from the house, or chip brush. Our chipper shredder guide covers that machine and its own heavy safety rules. Clean and oil the saw before storing it, and check the chain and bar for damage. Our tool cleaning and sharpening guide has upkeep steps for your hand tools as well.

If evergreens are bent by snow rather than broken, gently brush snow off from below and see tying up arborvitae for snow to prevent the next split.

Bottom line

Gear up fully, cut only limbs that are on the ground and not under tension, keep both feet planted and the bar tip out of the wood, and leave hangers, leaning trees, and anything near wires to a certified arborist or the utility. Follow the operator manual for your saw over any general advice.

Related reading

• Pole saw for fall tree limbs
• Chipper shredder for fall branches
• Bypass pruning shears for the garden
• Clean and sharpen garden tools for winter
• Firewood racks and covers for storing cut wood