By admin TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – People in the Tucson area are still cleaning up from Monday’s storms.
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Strong winds and rain uprooted trees throughout the eastside, causing thousands to lose power.
Brenda Peters said the storm was among the scariest she’s encountered.
“It was just probably the biggest storm I’ve seen here,” Peters said. “More rain than I’ve ever seen. We had puddles in our yard, and it was just crazy,” Peters said.
The microburst took down two eucalyptus trees in front of Peters’ neighborhood on East Tanque Verde Road.
Jim Bredice, owner of Branching Out Tree Service and a certified arborist, responded to the call and said the damage wasn’t unexpected.
“When you’re in the path of a really intense microburst like this one, all bets are off, trees are going to come down, that’s just the way it goes,” Bredice said.
Bredice said eucalyptus trees are native to Australia and often have shallow roots that don’t tolerate monsoon winds well.
He said native trees like mesquites and palo verdes can have stronger roots, but hybrid variations and watering practices can impact that resiliency.
“Most desert trees are fairly surface-rooted, and if we get a lot of rain and they’re thick and the rain hits them real hard, they’re just a sail, and they don’t let the wind blow through them, so they get toppled,” Bredice said.
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Arborist recommends thinning trees before storms
Bredice said those species also produce beans right before monsoon season, making them heavier and more susceptible to breakage. He recommends people thin their trees before monsoon starts and call an arborist to survey the property when in doubt.
“You don’t want something too big, too shallow-rooted close to the front of your house or something like that or where kids play – you want to make sure that the high-liability trees get the most attention,” Bredice said.
Bredice said that despite monsoon wrapping up in a few weeks, it’s never too late to check that trees are safe.
“We’re projected to have rain, and with it comes the winds, and more of this is going to probably take place, so if you have trees that you feel like you need to pay attention to, now’s the time,” Bredice said.
Fallen trees or storm damage can be reported to the City of Tucson at 311 orPima County’s Office of Emergency Management at 520-724-9300.
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