How to ensure your trees are prepared to weather future storms

DAYTON, Ohio ( WDTN ) — People across the Miami Valley are still cleaning up after the remnants of Helene brought heavy rain and high winds. Experts say some damage and power outages can be prevented with proper tree maintenance.

Tree services companies in the Miami Valley have been busy since Friday’s storm, cleaning up fallen or damaged trees on people’s properties.

“Extremely busy. It’s been 12-hour days,” said Jason Page, manager of Tackett’s Tree Service.

A crew with Tackett’s Tree Service works to remove what’s left of a tree after last Friday’s storm.

“Something like this is behind us. You know, it’s hollow. It didn’t get that way overnight. So proper pruning is best,” said Page.

Start by looking at trees on your property and their proximity to your home and power lines; then, inspect the trunk.

“Starting from from the ground up. Any visible cracks, anything that’s plainly obvious to what you can see. And sometimes some of the stuff isn’t so obvious. So it’s just best to have a trained professional come out and give it a thorough look through,” said Page.

Page recommends having your trees pruned every two to four years.

When it comes to trees around power lines, AES works year-round to maintain trees near power lines. Mary Ann Kabel says if you notice a limb on or close to a power line, report it to AES.

“You don’t want to tend to yourself because that line is energized. Depending on the circumstances, you will either have to have that line de-energized or we will trim it depending on the location on your property,” said Kabel.

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