LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) — In less than a month, two severe storm systems downed numerous trees across Louisville.
A tree specialist says part of the problem is where the trees were planted and how they were cared for.
“A lot of bad things to do with trees, especially big ones, is plant them in small spaces and damage the root system,” said Cindi Sullivan, executive director of Trees Louisville.
Trees Louisville has planted thousands of trees across the city since 2015. The recent series of severe storms has affected the newly planted trees.
“This is the first time we’ve had what we call leaners,” Sullivan said. “Oversaturated soil, roots that have not yet established themselves and the strong winds cause them to topple over or completely stick out of the ground.”
On Wednesday, heavy rain combined with strong winds reaching 78 miles per hour were the key factors causing trees to fall. Trees were reported blocking 13 streets across the city.
“They’re going to fall just like that when the ground is saturated and we have strong sustained winds,” Sullivan said.
The National Weather Service said winds in Newburg reached 90 miles per hour. Sullivan recommends hiring a certified arborist to trim trees every two to three years. She said this helps trees withstand storm conditions.
“That causes the wind to flow through the tree and not get caught by it, so it doesn’t feel like we’re calling that loading,” Sullivan said.
Trees need plenty of room to grow for the root system, which is essential to the overall health of the trees. Sullivan said it takes at least 8 feet to plant an oak tree, which experts didn’t know before.
“50 or 100 years ago, that’s a lot of the trees that are falling down now, we weren’t using the best forest management practices for urban management,” Sullivan said. “We put trees that get really big, with really big root systems, in very narrow strips of grass.”
Many of the uprooted trees do not have an extensive root system to hold them in place. Damaged or diseased trees fall more quickly during storms.
Sullivan said maple trees are more likely to get a fungal disease through their root system.
“If you have utility work done or you put in new pipe or electricity and you get too close to the trunk of this tree, the roots will be severed and make them more susceptible to fungal infections. It’s also going to weaken that root system on one side,” Sullivan said.
Local tree companies are slowly catching up from the storm system in early March. They said it could take two weeks to get an estimate of the services.
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