Davey Tree Flipbooks

12 THE DAVEY BULLETIN | November/December 2020 In August, a derecho storm wreaked havoc in the Midwest. Davey Resource Group (DRG) assisted utility clients MidAmerican Energy and ComEd with their storm responses, while Residential/Commercial (R/C) operations in the Quad Cities and Chicago regions worked to help their clients in the aftermath of the storm. DAVEY RESOURCE GROUP RESPONSE Seventy-five DRG employees assisted with the storm response for ComEd. Eighteen employees came from California, Oklahoma, Michigan and Wisconsin. Eleven DRG employees aided MidAmerican Energy. "When storms of this magnitude hit, we help our clients organize their response," said Kyle Finke, project coordinator, DRG. "We focus on getting people to the areas that require a response and track the work that's been completed." Both responses required team members to watch downed wires until line repair crews arrived to DERECHO DAMAGE NEEDS R/C, DRG HELP MISSION address them. They also responded to customer tickets reporting vegetation on the powerlines. "We prescreened the customer tickets for the tree crews," said Sara Dreiser, account manager, DRG. "Our biggest value is making quick responses to the utility customers and letting them know their call has been received. We prioritize where the tree crews go, so we can use the resources we have as efficiently as possible to restore power." RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL RESPONSE Robert Spartz, district manager, Quad Cities R/C office, said his office removed roughly 200 trees off houses and compared the damage to a tornado-like disaster. "In a storm situation, you never know how a tree is going to react when you begin a removal," Spartz said. "You have to adapt when new conditions arise. It's important to know when to call an 'All Stop' and discuss a new plan with your crew members to tackle the tree. From a safety aspect, my crews did a phenomenal job working safely every day while responding to this storm." For B. Haney and Sons, a Davey company, and the Glen Ellyn R/C office, they were dealing with damage from a F1 tornado that hit the Chicago region because of the derecho. District managers Sean Zieche and David Haney said a big safety concern for their offices was downed powerlines energizing metal fencing. "One thing I'm always wary about while working on storm damage is walking up to someone's backyard that has a metal fence," Zieche said. "Those are particularly dangerous and can be a huge hazard. My crew's commitment to safety really shined through. There were a lot of dangerous situations that we walked into but were able to mitigate without incident." • Wheeling • Northwest Chicago • South Chicago • Naperville • Lake Bluff Other R/C Operations That Assisted the Quad Cities, Glen Ellyn and B. Haney Offices: DRG and R/C crews were busy in the aftermath of this severe storm. This is an example of some of the damage seen in the region.

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