Tree servicing company from Raleigh helps clean up Asheville after Helene

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The huge effort to clear trees in the storm zone in western North Carolina is likely to take months. A Raleigh tree servicing company is in the Asheville area working to do its part.

Tim Robbins, the owner of ArborMax, recalled his time in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.

“We redeployed to Valdosta and Augusta [in Georgia] and Greenville and Spartanburg [in South Carolina], but when I got to Asheville in western North Carolina, I’d never seen anything like it,” Robbins said. “By far, it’s worse than Michael, worse than Katrina, worse than anything I’ve seen. It’s devastating.

“Asheville had a lot of flooding,” he continued. “As a result, huge loss of life. The flooding also affected the root systems of the trees and urban forest there. The infrastructure is forever changed. It’ll never be the same.”

A board-certified master arborist, Robbins says his company heads to affected areas after hurricanes, ready to help with removal, preservation, and more.

“There’s an array of work we do after a hurricane,” he said. “Primarily, we focus on the worst of the worst. Trees on homes that have impacted the house, penetrated the roof, walls, and windows.”

Videos and photos taken over the last 10 days show his crews hard at work. Robbins says ArborMax works with insurance companies, but also helps people in need after these storms.

“There’s a lot of pro bono and charity work we do because not everybody can afford home insurance,” he said.

Robbins says he’s heading back to Florida Monday night so he can be prepared to help once Hurricane Milton makes landfall this week.

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