EUGENE, SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (KMTR) – With bad weather bringing soaking rain and whipping winds, you might be looking up in your own yard, wondering if that giant tree might come down.
What are the warning signs when it comes to tree safety? One Springfield arborist says there are some things to look out for.
Dean Grazier is the owner of “Spiderman Tree Services” in Springfield. Randle started the business after working several years for a local electric utility making room around power lines.
Grazier says that trees with limbs pointing to the northwest or the southeast typically come down first in the Willamette Valley.
He says trees growing by themselves are prone to fall first as well, compared to a group of trees. Dean says a lone tree takes all of the wind. He says if the landscape around that tree has changed, it makes it even more prone to problems.
“Two trees stand stronger than one tree by itself, unless the tree's lived its entire life out there. You change the environment, you subject a tree that's taken its whole life to get used to,” says Grazier.
Looking back to 2011, a freak windstorm in March caused significant damage in the Willamette Valley, bringing down power lines and trees across the Lane County and surrounding regions.
Despite the potential of many trees causing hundreds of thousands of dollars to surrounding property, Randle says the tree business has slowed down, as many people have cut back to avoid the expense. He says it is important for people to be aware of the potential risks associated with not trimming back trees though, especially large branches.
“If something isn't done and it's still flapping, something's flapping by itself, the whole tree is going to fail, I've seen it over and over and over again,” says Grazier.
Grazier says fir trees are the most prone to falling, followed closely by cottonwoods and a cedar trees.
