Katrina

[Allen Tree Serv]

Hey Guys, Been reading all your talk about the big Storm. My crews have been busy here in Bham since the storm hit. I'm thinking about going down to check things out in the morning. I've worked these hurricanes for many years. Got a call Sunday from a guy working with FEMA in LA the going rate for a yard is $6.50 if you get in under the main General contractor. Be careful if you get less than that you are under Subcontractor. Got another call today for $4.50.

 

[clearance]

Dan, I don't mean to be ignorant but restoration/pruning work is not an emergency or needed at all now. I see lots of treework that needs to be done, bucking trees off houses, roads, if it is a problem that needs to be addresssed, cut it down, in the bin. When I look at this mess on CNN I think that only tree guys with experience doing removals or loggers should be running saws down there. But I am sure that anyone that has helped get firewood with uncle Bob years ago thinks they can run a saw. My girlfriend has a good idea about cleaning up down there, She says to say a mass prayer, push all that mess into big piles and burn it. The fine touch is not called for, high production, big excavators, bulldozers, bin trailers and dump trucks are the way to go.

 

[treeseer]

Dan, I don't mean to be ignorant...if it is a problem that needs to be addresssed, cut it down, ...say a mass prayer, push all that mess into big piles and burn it. The fine touch is not called for, high production, ... .

Clearance, your plan may be relevant for ROW's, but not everywhere. I don't think residents of that area need someone to come riding into their towns on a bulldozer, calling all the damaged trees "problems", and destroying them. After what they've been through, they deserve better than wood ticks cutting every tree they see.

What is "high production"? When I was on a utility crew, that was measured by how fast the chip box got full, and how many miles of line were clear. When you're dealing with high-value amenity tree assets, producing a long useful life is what it's all about. If a tree can be restored by pruning, the best time to do it is when the damage is fresh and the cleanup is underway.

The Amenity approach is not very relevant to ROW work, and vice versa. Both have a place. Some FEMA field personnel were trained in triage, and knew when and how to specify restoration instead of removal. Let's hope they were not all sacked and replaced with ignorant political flunkies, like their bosses were.

 

[darkstar]

of course high volume removal is needed but i think dan has an excellant suggestion many of the damaged trees will be simply removed hey it pays more $$$ but many many damaged trees should be pruned correctly and helped out to recover from the storm remember they will be the only trees left ......i think a soft touch is always needed as well as the huge machines and tubs for mass debris ....

 

[treeseer]

Deciding if a tree is removed or is worth saving is a decision that requires knowledge not often found in storm chasers. I doubt FEMA has money allocated to this important task.

Some, but not near enough. FEMA inspectors in Richmond after Isabel covered some restoration, in the name of hazard removal. It's a more responsible use of our tax dollars.

 

[Dadatwins]

There was some FEMA $$$ used for reforestation of some parks in Richmond, but not enough and a lot came from donations. As for removal decisions, the FEMA folks I worked with had very little working knowledge about tree care and long term survival chances for a lot of trees. More of the non-climbing, no practical experience club of certified arbos.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

More of the non-climbing, no practical experience club of certified arbos.

So, the FEMA people were CAs? Do you know that for a fact?

There is some encouragement there if they are.

 

[Dadatwins]

One of the FEMA inspection crew in Richmond was a CA, but no climbing or practical experience. His job was storm evaluation on city property and parks to determine if damaged but not downed trees would survive and if FEMA would pay for corrective pruning. More often than not removal was recomended and needed.

 

[treeseer]

Norm "coffeecraver" shared his protocol for triage that he used with FEMA in Richmond; it seemed to be a step in the right direction. Maybe you know more about this than I, Dada.

 

[Dadatwins]

I worked with Norm on a lot of the area that FEMA was inspecting, and some of the $$$ were used properly, but like many government programs the old "to little, to late" axium was in use. To us in the field at the time, it seemed that Isabel overwelmed the system that was in place even at the federal level. Red tape, indecision and paperwork did not help get anything done. I am fearful of the confusion down in N.O. which was hit at a much larger scale, and from reading the paper the system looks more screwed up than ever.

 

[bushman]

maybe next year at this time there will lots of pruning after the full affect of the storm is over.im pruning isabel hangers out trees now.

 

[treeseer]

.im pruning isabel hangers out trees now.

I jsut pruned a pine with a 6" x 15' dead broken branch hanging 65' over a house. the owners didn't know it was there til I pointed it out... They said o yea we had some limbs fall on the house during the ice storm in 2002. When I think about the velocity if it shook loose.

I just estimated a reduction job on a 36" oak with a 20 degree lean toward a house from Hurricane Hazel...which was in 1957! :umpkin: I'm nominating this client as the all-time Guinness record procrastinator--48 years waiting to mitigate the risk from a storm-damaged tree!