Dry conditions further stressing trees that already were stressed by storms earlier this summer
Some property owners are having limbs fall on their homes
SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — The heat is taking a toll on trees throughout the region.
One arborist says between the severe storms earlier this summer and the extreme heat now, trees are stressed.
“There’s a section of our roof that just does this, and roofs aren’t supposed to look like that,” Mark Klein said. “I mean there’re supposed to be flat and ours got crunched.”
Almost two months after severe storms produced heavy winds and rains, causing massive damage and days without power, people in the ArkLaTex are still feeling the effects.
“On a random sunny day just like we’re having right now, it happened again,” Klein recalled. “The pecan tree decided to throw a huge limb about 20 yards long, at its thickest point about 2 feet wide. And it fell right from this tree right into the middle of our home.”
Some people are still dealing with falling limbs from trees that were weakened months ago due to the storm.
We talked with a certified arborist who’s been working for weeks clearing timber from homes throughout the arklatex
“When we had those storm come through, 80- (to) 90-mph winds, a lot of limbs came down; but a lot of limbs were broken and weakened,” said Rick Gates, COO of All About Trees.
“There’s a lot of stress on the trees now. And we still see a lot of limbs falling. And now that we’re getting into the summer drought, the trees are going to be stressed even further.>
He suggests that if you have a tree looming over your property, you should look into hiring a certified arborist.
And if you have a limb or tree fall on your home, he said, you should also consider reaching out to an arborist to have the timber removed. But also have them take a look at the overall health of the tree.
“The best offense or good defense, if those limbs are threatening the homes, it may be better to just go ahead and remove those limbs so that if you do have a faulty limb it won’t land on the home.”
Ahead of the next storm, Gates said, make sure you prepare your property. It will save you in the long-run.
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