The tree has become an electrical conductor. Green wood and wet bark carry current, so the tree itself, any fence or gutter it touches, and the ground in a radius around a downed conductor can all be energized. Until the utility says otherwise this is an electrical incident that happens to involve a tree, not a tree job that happens to involve a wire. In Fishers — Sunblest Farms, Avalon and Brooks Chase included, that's normally a emergency tree service job at $500–$3,500. Call tonight.
Why this comes up in Fishers
June 29, 2023 derecho — the NWS logged an estimated 60 mph gust at Fishers that took down a six-inch-diameter tree, while the same squall line measured 70 mph at Indianapolis International and left parts of the region without power for days. The July 15-16, 2024 derecho crossed Hamilton County with damage at Atlanta, Westfield (about 55 mph) and Cicero. September 14, 2008 remnants of Hurricane Ike gusted 50-70 mph for hours across central Indiana.
Fishers's canopy
Fishers was not one of the 23 communities in Indiana DNR's street-tree sample inventory, so no verified species breakdown exists for the city. What is documented is that the Tree Board maintains a list of desirable and undesirable species and no species off that list may be planted as a street tree without special permission — the practical picture being a 1990s-2000s nursery palette in tight uniform age classes, with ash gone since EAB was confirmed in Indiana in 2004.
Who to call first in Fishers
Duke Energy Indiana, on a five-year distribution trim cycle covering roughly 20% of line miles annually, with a minimum 14 days' notice before planned pruning and an annual vegetation report to the IURC each March 31. On top of that, Fishers issues its own annual right-of-way trimming permit to each utility under section 95.33(D), and except in emergencies, electric and communications utilities must notify the city before removing any tree.
Hamilton County rules
Fishers regulates street trees, not yard trees. Under section 95.33 you need a Tree Board permit to plant, treat, spray or prune a street tree, and a separate permit to remove one, with no permit required in a genuine emergency; permits are reported to run up to 60 days with a 30-day extension on written request. Section 95.34 bars planting in any public right-of-way, required landscape easement or municipal property without a permit, and bars planting within 15 horizontal feet of an overhead utility line or five feet of an underground one. The trap is the definition: STREET TREES covers trees on real estate owned or controlled by the city AND trees within a dedicated landscape easement, which sweeps in subdivision frontage that looks like private yard. Removing a tree standing entirely in a private yard needs no permit. Section numbers, permit durations and setbacks here should be confirmed against the current Fishers code before they are relied on.