PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A storm brought powerful winds through the East Valley, snapping trees, scattering debris and damaging homes.
Neighborhoods from Mesa to Gilbert to Ahwatukee saw downed trees after wind gusts blasted past 50 mph, with some gauges reporting even stronger gusts in other spots.
Angel Robles, who lives in Ahwatukee, said the storm woke her up.
“I was laying on my bed. Boom! It was scary, very scary that it got me out my bed,” Robles said.
The wind was strong enough to send an apartment chimney crashing down onto the stairs at Robles’ complex.
“I said what the heck, like that is crazy, and I looked at it, and, yeah, that’s a whole piece of building sitting on our staircase,” Robles said.
Arborists respond to storm damage
Downed trees lined the area, and local arborists worked through the aftermath.
Garrett Bragg, owner of Arbor Barber Tree Service, described the workload following the storm.
“I would say busy is an understatement,” Bragg said.
Bragg said homeowners can take steps now to help their trees survive future storms. When a tree’s canopy is not maintained, the leaves can act like a sail and catch the wind, which can help knock over the tree during a storm with strong gusts.
Pruning and watering recommendations
Bragg recommends having trees checked out and pruned by a professional at least once a year to help with airflow.
“You don’t want to take too much off the tree either,” he said. “If you take too much off, then you damage the tree, and it really hurts the tree and puts it in shock. So it is really a kind of a surgical way of looking at how you take care of your trees.”
Bragg also recommends talking to an arborist about watering practices.
“When you water every day, your root system doesn’t have to grow deeper because all the water is at the top. And so by doing deep watering and then letting it dry out, it makes those roots grow deeper into the ground, and it makes them stronger,” Bragg said.
Dead trees pose added risk
He said dead trees can also be a problem during storms, getting knocked down more easily.
“Do you see any big cracks in your tree, splits? Or do you have mushrooms or fungus growing on it?” Bragg said. “A big one that we have out here is bark beetles. A lot of people don’t know about bark beetles. They’re bugs, and they start infesting your tree, and they weaken the interior of your tree.”
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