Hello. I own a house in McKinney, TX and have been renting it out. The neighborhood has no alleys so my backyard is directly next to everyone else's backyard, separated by fences. Lightning struck a tree in my neighbors back yard (which is directly behind mine). This caused a huge part of their tree to split off and land in my backyard. It was huge. When it landed in my backyard, it also caused damage to the fence.

I contacted the property manager who manages the neighbors house and he is not taking responsibility for paying the cost of the tree removal and fixing the fence and insists I go through my insurance to take care of it. I have the address of the owner but no phone number. They live in California so I could send them a letter explaining the situation with pictures and asking them to pay me or else, I'll go to small claims court.

I'm not sure what to do. Should I send the letter to the owners and if I get no response, take them to court? Should I just file a claim with my landlord insurance instead? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.