Davey Tree Flipbooks

22 THE DAVEY BULLETIN | November/December 2017 MY DAVEY LANDSLIDE BRINGS R/C, DRG TOGETHER IN PORTLAND Like many areas of the country, Portland, Oregon, had unusual weather this year. Over the summer, the city, which is known for its rain, went 57 days without a drop. Earlier in the spring, it was the exact opposite. Overly saturated soil caused 42 landslides by March. One particular landslide caused 12 families to evacuate their Southwest Portland apartment complex. "The complex was at the top of the hill, and the soil under it failed, which lowered the grade by 6 inches to 12 inches and destabilized the entire backside of the building," said Ruth Williams, project coordinator, Davey Resource Group (DRG). "Concrete cracked, which pulled out the decks that ran along the entire backside of the apartment. The remaining decks looked like they were suspended in air." At the same time, a huge 42 feet tall cottonwood tree fell down the complex's very steep slope into a construction site. The tree was so large it filled the entire basement that was being built. Luckily, no one was hurt at either the complex or the construction site, and the cleanup process could begin. The tree was quickly removed from the basement, and then the tricky question arose of whose responsibility it was to mitigate the unstable hillside. Left: Construction was stopped for six months following a landslide in Portland, Oregon. After Davey stepped in and mitigated the tree risks, work soon resumed. Below: What remains of the cottonwood tree that fell onto the site. The owner had abandoned the apartment complex. The construction company, DCB Construction, was eager to get back to work, but had received a stop work order by the city of Portland until they dealt with the dangerous trees. Nearby, there was a path with fallen trees owned by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, and the property adjacent to the construction site also suffered from the landslide. So, who should clean up the trees? DRG was called to the scene in June, six months after the landslide, to answer that question. Williams conducted a tree inventory for the Portland Bureau of Transportation and the construction company. "Frankly, it was tough to differentiate whose trees were whose. But we did it," Williams said. The transportation bureau chose to preserve their trees while the construction company got the OK from the city to remove the hazardous trees. "It's always tough to recommend tree removal because we want to preserve trees. But because this slope was in the act of failing, we needed to reduce the risk, which meant removing a lot of trees," Williams said. That's when she called Clay Erway, sales arborist at the Portland Residential/Commercial office. " Our office collaborates with DRG about half a dozen times a year. This is a huge help for the client because it saves them from having to work with multiple companies. " — Clay Erway sales arborist, Portland R/C office.

• Cover