While money doesn't grow on trees, the large numbers of downed trees, snapped limbs, and fallen branches have sent tree service businesses across the Grand Strand into overtime over the past week.
Last week, NewsChannel15's Joel Allen reported on how busy tree removers were as they were inundated with orders to remove suspicious oaks, pines, and other leafy greens as homeowners prepared for Hurricane Irene to move past the South Carolina coast.
Monday, the story was similar. Irene has made the past few days very busy for George Aakjer of TCB Tree Service, Inc. He also said Irene has taught people a big lesson.
"It got them to look up," he said.
This particular day Aakjer was surveying a report for a fallen branch that was stuck in power lines. Once on the scene, Aakjer said, he realized the tree should not be standing. Even more dangerous, a few feet below the tree stuck in power lines, a vacation home sat.
Aakjer didn't know the owner of the vacation home on the property of Pirateland Campground. Pirateland management had called him in. To fix the problem will costs hundreds, to have pruned or checked the tree before the storm, would have cost just one hundred dollars.
"You very seldom see a properly trimmed tree take on storm damage. It's almost always the trees that need to be pruned," Aakjer said.
Longleaf pines, the most common species along the Coastal Carolinas, rarely collapse in a hurricane. Their root structure is deep and strong enough to prevent collapse. Hardwood trees, like oaks and maples, have broader, shallower roots, making them more vulnerable to hurricane or tropical storm force winds. Palm trees are not usually a concern in hurricanes.
