Tree removal business picks up after severe storms

ABILENE, Texas -

The Big Country has seen some nasty weather this week and the evidence is just about everywhere you look. Residents are working to clean up their yards and homes after high winds and rain knocked over trees and blew off roofs.

"I had several trees that had really gotten damaged and some of my shrubs were blown over," said Janice Middlebrooks.

Business has significantly picked up for companies that trim and haul away trees. Truck after truck lined up Thursday to drop tree limbs off at the Abilene Recycling Center.

"As great as it is to see an upswing in business you don't want damage to your trees like that," said Jeremy Voss, co-owner of God's Care Landscaping. He said many homeowners have wondered if their damaged trees will make it.

"Will the tree survive, will the tree die? Most anybody can come out there with a chainsaw and a trailer and load up your limbs and take it off but it's really good when you can call someone who knows about trees," said Voss.

ISA Certified Arborist and owner of Broken Willow Tree Removal Bruce Kreitler said the trees around the Big Country were already weak from past droughts, and 80 mile per hour straight line winds took a lot of them over the edge.

"When you're getting winds like that, trees are coming down," said Kreitler.

He said that does not mean that every tree that sustained damage has seen its last day.

"We've dealt with a lot of trees where we have removed the broken pieces from the canopy and I'm fairly comfortable saying that those trees will go on and in 10 to 15 years it would take someone who knows as much about trees as I do to even detect there was ever a problem," said Kreitler.

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Tree removal business picks up after severe storms