Communities are still cleaning up after severe weather raged across northern Alabama on Friday.
Jeff Stephens, owner of North Alabama Tree Services, said he and his team have worked non-stop to get people out of dangerous situations. At one of their Madison locations, workers are removing a tree that has fallen into a three-story apartment building.
No one was in the unit when the tree fell on it, but it took two days to remove the tree from the unit’s living room.
“It was absolutely insane,” Stephens said. “You get 50 and 100 calls and texts a day from people who need help and you only have to go to those that are most intense, like a tree in a three-story apartment building impacting the lives of six people.”
Stephens asked the public for patience with tree removal services as they have to exit severity after storms like Friday’s. This means that trees on houses, roads or vehicles must be given priority to ensure the safety of the community.
The tree in the home wasn’t the only tree causing trouble in Madison Monday. Workers at Madison City Hall were removing debris from a fallen tree whose roots became tangled in wires and detonated a transformer.
This resulted in the Madison Municipal Complex losing power and being closed for the day. Madison Mayor Paul Finley said Huntsville Utilities was up and running quickly and power was restored to the building Friday night.
“Often we take everything we have for granted,” Finley said. “(Linemen) don’t. They are ahead of the game, they are the unsung heroes and we value both our public works and our teammates at Huntsville Utilities so much.”
Madison City Hall will reopen Tuesday at 8 a.m
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