The snow from February's record-breaking winter storms may be gone but danger from the storms still could be — literally — hanging around.
Mike Seefeld of Mike's Tree Service in Upper Burrell, warns that people should be aware of the canopy of their trees and not just the base.
"People don't always look up and inspect the branches. They can break from the weight of the snow and once they dry out they can fall. It can be a real safety issue," said Seefeld who suggested that if someone should see a broken branch they call a professional to have a look to make sure it is safe.
Seefeld shut down his business for tree removal in February but anticipates the need for his services now that the snow is melted. More than four feet of snow fell on the region in February, much of it heavy, wet snow that brought down or damaged thousands of trees and branches across the region.
Other local tree services didn't seen much of an increase in tree removal sales in February but they, too, expect that to change soon, which is good for businesses such as Hollibaugh Landscaping and Tree Removal in West Deer.
During the storms, John Hollibaugh spent 16-hour days plowing snow and had put the tree removal end of his business on hold. He sees a lot of shrubbery that will need to be replaced as well as trees.
"I drive around and notice all the beautiful shrubbery that has taken 20 years to grow is now wasted because of the weight of the snow. It's a shame," Hollibaugh said.
Last month's storm may have been a blessing to tree and landscaping services, but local governments feel differently.
They have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on emergency cleanup of trees and large limbs. Those bills will get even bigger, officials say, because crews have just begun clearing the trees and branches that didn't present an immediate threat to public safety.
For local governments, after trees and large limbs were taken off roads, utility lines and buildings, tree cleanup took a back seat to snow removal. But the emergency tree removal was costly.
Allegheny County spent $55,000 on tree removal last month, about 6 percent of the $935,000 the county spent during the peak of last month's snowstorms, said county spokesman Kevin Evanto.
Allegheny County and its municipalities, schools and hospitals are seeking reimbursement for $9.1 million in emergency cleanup costs, according to a Pennsylvania Emergency Management
Agency application filed last month. If 6 percent of those expenses went toward tree removal, as they did for the city and county, the tree-removal bill would exceed $500,000.
Chances are, however, the bill is higher and will only continue growing. The figure in the region's PEMA application only included money spent during the costliest 48 hours of cleanup — not the amount spent during subsequent weeks of cleanup.
Further, some tree cleanup hasn't even begun.
"Now that the snow is melting, we're just now getting into the parks, doing an assessment and putting a plan together of what needs to be done," Evanto said.
Although the Westmoreland County Parks Department is still cleaning up tree branches and will be utilizing tree chippers for the next couple weeks, for the most part the storm spared the parks' vegetation and very minimal damage has been done. None of the parks in the local area had to close because of the storms.
