What you can do about your damaged trees
Trees throughout the metro area look like they were hit by a tornado, but residents are being urged to be patient and not assume all is lost.
Mark Bays, Urban and Community Forestry coordinator with Oklahoma Forestry Services, was part of a small crew propping up branches and clearing ice off of the iconic Survivor Tree at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Tuesday.
The tree will be fine, he said, and so will many trees throughout the metro area if residents are careful in who they hire to address damage caused by ice.
“We will have tree care companies flooding into neighborhood sand offering special deals, and people can be talked into doing too much that is not necessary,” he said. “Or the work that is done can cause future problems that can multiply in time.”
He also advises against getting under trees and shaking off ice and putting in props as done at the Survivor Tree.
His crew is trained in saving trees and was wearing protective equipment on Tuesday.
“You really have to be careful when you're around trees that have a heavy ice load,” Bays said .“There is always a chance you t ouch one of those branches, it can come crashing down. It's risky. But the Survivor Tree is one that means so much to so many people that we need to make sure it stands as this testament to strength .”
If the property owner is dealing with a small tree, a bush or a shrub, Bays recommends knocking the ice off.
Bays suggests clearing debris away from the tree and waiting for time to pass when an available certified arborist can be contracted to survey the tree and come up with a plan for trimming and saving it.
Residents can find certified ar borists at https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist, a search site hosted by the International Society or Arboraculture.
“The reputable ones will come out and do triage but they will hit the most catastrophic ones first ,” Bays said .“If you have lost a few branches, be patient. There will be time to prune it and be ready for next spring.”
Bays said a tree that has lost up to 25% of its crown will likely survive and recover from the damage. Younger, hardier trees can survive losing 50% of their crown, but survival of older trees with that much damage is less likely.
Patience also is advised when it comes to cleaning up.
On Tuesday, Oklahoma City had eight crews armed with chain saws removing fallen trees from roads to reopen them for traffic.
Kris ty Yager, city spokesperson, said anticipated storm debris cleanup likely will cost millions.
Jennifer M cC lin to ck, spokesperson for the city's utilities department, said the city needs to draw up a plan and likely will hire contractors before starting to pick up the debris.
“If you need to set your tree debris on the curb, do not mix it with your regular bulky trash ,” M cC lin to ck said .“It is likely trucks will come by and regular bulky will be picked up. But branches will not be picked up. We're working on a tree debris program separately that has to be evaluated and we need to wait to see if we can get FE MA reimbursement.”
Bays hopes a tree planting campaign will follow once recovery is underway.
“Something a lot of people don't think about is how trees benefit our community with air quality, health and shade for our homes ," Bays said. “We've lost a lot of that. It' s important for people to recover from this and remember t hose who came before us and planted these trees. They did us a favor and we can pay that back by planting new ones.”