Davey Tree Flipbooks

9 September/October 2023 | THE DAVEY BULLETIN TOLEDO OFFICE AIDS WITH POINT PLACE TORNADO RECOVERY Point Place, a neighborhood located in Toledo, Ohio, was struck by an EF-2 tornado. Peak winds reached 130 mph. Mike Cartier, district manager, Toledo office, said lines were knocked down, roofs were ripped off buildings, and streets were closed for days. "People couldn't get out of their driveways because trees were uprooted or snapped in half across their driveways," Cartier said. The urban setting of this storm made getting around to the next job difficult. "What would normally take five minutes to drive to the next job would take 20 minutes, because of roads blocked by trees and power lines down," said Brian Gargac, landscape foreman, Toledo office. In addition to the residential response, the Toledo office also worked on cleaning up Cullen Park as well as Detweiler Park Golf Course for the city of Toledo. The storm cleanup took approximately six weeks. "It was all hands-on deck, with every truck and piece of equipment out pretty much every day for the first three weeks," Cartier added. "One man had a tree fall on his car within five minutes of getting out of it and going into the house. Another gentleman was pinned to his bed by a tree that fell into his bedroom while he was sleeping. While there were challenging moments, we were able to help and make things better for these folks," Cartier said. Left: A large tree lands on a truck in the Point Place, Ohio EF-2 tornado. Due to the severity of this storm, Mike Cartier, district manager, brought in landscape technicians and PHC technicians to assist. Employees who worked on the storm recovery were Steven Buford, trimmer; Gregory Eby, foreman; Bryce Fowler, PHC technician; Brian Gargac, landscape foreman; Daniel Krantz, landscape technician; Shane Leck, PHC technician; Tyler McDonald, PHC technician; Charles Powell, trimmer; Collin Thomas, trimmer; Alexander Webb, foreman; Ryan Whitson, foreman; and Charles Winegardner, trimmer. Right: A large tree is cracked by the Point Place EF-2 tornado. Scott Silva, sales arborist, South Detroit office, recommended bracing a cherry tree during a consultation with Chelsea, Michigan clients Marion and Jeff Hoyer. Jake Benjamin, trimmer, and Ryan Whitson, foreman, cabled the main union of the tree together to give it support. Months later, a storm hit the Hoyer's property. Marion Hoyer wrote to Silva to express their sincere thanks for what the Hoyers felt would have put their son in danger: "I am writing to try to express my overflowing gratitude to you for recommending that we have our cherry CHERRY TREE WEATHERS MICHIGAN STORM Scott Silva, sales arborist, South Detroit office, is in front of the Hoyer's cherry trees. tree cabled," Hoyer wrote. "Without this intervention, I have no doubt this tree would have fallen on our house in the 50-year record storm we weathered last month. Given where its main branches fell in the middle of the night, the tree most likely would have fallen on my son's bedroom. You not only saved our family from unrecoverable tragedy, but you saved this beautiful cherry tree, and we are forever grateful." Silva said, as an arborist, when your clients are inviting you to assess their trees, it's important to identify potential hazards and inform them of what they need. "Building strong relationships with clients means they'll keep calling you back," he said.

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