PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A storm brought powerful winds through the East Valley, snapping trees, scattering debris and damaging homes.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angel Robles, who lives in Ahwatukee, said the storm woke her up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was laying on my bed. Boom! It was scary, very scary that it got me out my bed,\u201d Robles said.<\/p>\n
The wind was strong enough to send an apartment chimney crashing down onto the stairs at Robles\u2019 complex.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said what the heck, like that is crazy, and I looked at it, and, yeah, that\u2019s a whole piece of building sitting on our staircase,\u201d Robles said.<\/p>\n
Arborists respond to storm damage<\/p>\n
Downed trees lined the area, and local arborists worked through the aftermath.<\/p>\n
Garrett Bragg, owner of Arbor Barber Tree Service, described the workload following the storm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say busy is an understatement,\u201d Bragg said.<\/p>\n
Bragg said homeowners can take steps now to help their trees survive future storms. When a tree\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Pruning and watering recommendations<\/p>\n
Bragg recommends having trees checked out and pruned by a professional at least once a year to help with airflow.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to take too much off the tree either,\u201d he said. \u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bragg also recommends talking to an arborist about watering practices.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you water every day, your root system doesn\u2019t 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,\u201d Bragg said.<\/p>\n
Dead trees pose added risk<\/p>\n
He said dead trees can also be a problem during storms, getting knocked down more easily.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you see any big cracks in your tree, splits? Or do you have mushrooms or fungus growing on it?\u201d Bragg said. \u201cA big one that we have out here is bark beetles. A lot of people don\u2019t know about bark beetles. They\u2019re bugs, and they start infesting your tree, and they weaken the interior of your tree.\u201d<\/p>\n
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