How to handle storm-damaged trees safely and wisely
JOPLIN, Mo. — If you’ve lost trees, or they’ve suffered damage during the past few days of stormy weather, you have a lot of company.
What causes some to come down while others don’t?
The employees of G.W. Construction Services typically don’t cut down trees for a living, but the job they were supposed to do on this day got rained out so they answered the call of a previous client who needed their help.
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And that leads to a second job.
“And their insurance company said find somebody to take care of it and they saw us working on this one and they asked if we’d come next door and take care of it and we said absolutely,” said Gaylon Ward, G.W. Construction Services.
So why do some trees come down during stormy weather while others don’t?
Jon Skinner with the Missouri Department of Conservation says it has to do with unseen damage that’s been done to a tree in years, or even decades ago.
“Many of the trees that failed were not structurally sound and we didn’t know it, they had root rot, they had too much decay in their trunks, and under the stress of the storm with a full canopy, they failed,” said Jon Skinner, Community Forester, MO. Dept. of Conservation.
So, if a tree doesn’t come down, and isn’t in imminent danger of doing so, but has suffered damage, what should you do about to it?
Skinner says it might be best to wait for a few months before you make any final decisions.
“A lot of companies are very busy now, and again, waiting is not a problem, the tree’s still going to be there, if you can wait till November, it’s better biologically for the plant,” said Skinner.
