MARIN COUNTY — The wet winter that has wreaked havoc across the Bay Area has left tree removal contractors with a serious backlog of projects.
Falling trees put homeowners on high alert, trying to do everything they can to prevent disaster before it’s too late.
“This house owns the property. This house is worried about it falling on its property,” said Bob Emrich of Bob’s Tree Service.
Emrich and his team say they are called out almost every day to chop down tree after tree. Falling trees and large branches during a wet winter have created a tremendous amount of work for tree removal services.
This season was typically the slow season for Emrich’s fire mitigation-focused team.
“It’s incredible. Every tree company out there has never had as much work to do in a short period of time,” said Emrich.
Michael Frost of the Marin County Department of Public Works says the county had to deal with 60 downed trees in a single day recently.
“We had a few trees that fell on houses. One who crushed a car and seriously injured a passenger, dealing with tree issues and removing known hazards is a common theme,” Frost said.
Emrich now has a rolodex of videos and images of damaged homes, including a recent job that lasted days after a giant tree landed on a Mill Valley home.
“I have lived here for 37 years. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Emrich.
Emrich says he gets 20 to 30 calls a day.
The number of jobs to remove apparently healthy trees is unusual.
“The healthy trees fall down. It’s not just dead trees because the ground is so wet from the rain. The root balls can no longer hold,” says Emrich.
During fire season, his team typically hacks away to create defensible space on lots. The work was consistent and predictable. But the past few months have been different, as homeowners ramped up demands to cut down all types of trees.
“We see a lot of oaks because that’s a weaker root system. The oaks and cypresses are mostly what we see,” Emrich said.
His team of six needs more hands because of the high demand. Business is booming.
“We’re not praying for a catastrophe. But it happens. Hopefully that’s the end,” said Emrich.
Even in drier weather there is plenty to do.
Emrich said even if he couldn’t get a job right away, customers had been patient, knowing how many trees had fallen over the past few months.
Kenny Choi
www.cbsnews.com
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/wet-windy-storm-season-creating-surplus-of-work-for-tree-removal-companies/
