Rain has been falling and so have some trees, keeping local tree trimming companies busy during recent storms.
Catalyst Tree Service owner Seth Wilkie said he has seen an increase in calls for service.
“It started probably a day or two before the rain landed, the storm. People getting nervous, you know, the rain's picking up. We went out and we removed quite a few dead trees," Wilkie said.
Morro Bay homeowner Arby Kitzman said he sought out services specifically for his eucalyptus trees.
“We’ve had a couple of instances where we’ve had things under the trees and we’ve done damage, so we’re just trying to keep it trimmed up and hopefully prevent any of those accidents,” Kitzman said.
Sean Whitlock is a certified arborist with Catalyst and he suggests people look into the branch structure of their trees to determine whether they need to come down or be cut back.
“An unhealthy branch structure where basically the union, we call it v-notch, where water collects in the center and we get wet winters and rot will set in,” Whitlock said.
The wind can create leverage and force on the tree, increasing the chances of the branches falling.
“We had a few come down in some torrential storms and rivers going down the road and we had to pull some trees off these communication lines late at night and traffic and people were freaking out," Wilkie said.
Both state that keeping up with tree maintenance is key.
“I like to say that it’s never too early to call an expert like us to come out and look at your tree and assess its health and prescribe any work that maybe be required, but it can definitely be too late," Whitlock said.
