Over the last couple of days, the winds have been taking over our area - and with that comes damage that's hard to anticipate such as downed power lines and trees falling over.
Matt Basile with the City of Reno, who is an urban forester, tells us about a tree that feel over in a residential area today.
"We're out here this afternoon because of a tree that fell down from private property into the road. The City of Reno is responsible for keeping the roads and sidewalks clear for safe travel. So when a tree does fall like it did in this wind storm, we do come out and clear the road and sidewalk and make sure the tree is no longer in a hazardous condition that could injure someone."
The crews made quick work clearing the tree from the road; it now lays right on the front lawn it fell from.
While they don't exactly know the number of calls they get regarding fallen trees, they told us they started getting calls on Sunday morning around 4:00 a.m. Since then, they've had several dozen trees down throughout town due to the high velocity of winds.
Basile says, "The City of Reno, we'll respond to any calls about trees that are causing a hazard to the public; and in general our response is to clear it right away. So anywhere the public can be, such as the road and sidewalk, we'll come out and clear the tree and also make sure the tree is no longer in a condition that's hazardous."
They also mention that if you see a downed power line to never go towards it because it could be live, which is extremely dangerous.
Basile explains, "One of the things we've been seeing, like this tree here, is that sometimes the tree falls on the power lines. So as you can see we have NV Energy here who disconnected the lines to make sure it's safe for us."
You can call NV Energy at (775) 834-4444.
He adds, "And let them know you have a tree impacting a power line, that's whether it's private property or anywhere you do see it and there is sparking; also please call 911 so that the fire department can respond and make sure it's safe."
Basile also told us more about tree health during this time of year and how that can play a factor in them falling over when it's windy.
"We do see that February through March is typically when we see a lot of spruce trees fall over, particularly if the soil is wet. And that's what we had here, a Colorado spruce tree that blew down, they tend to be impacted by the wind and fall over if the soil is wet."
However, he adds, "Even though we don't really have wet soils right now, just the intensity of the winds has caused several trees to fall down."
He also says people can keep an eye out for if the soil around a tree is starting to crack and move with the wind, you should be concerned and can either call Reno Direct for some assistance from the city forestry department, or you may want to call a local arborist to come out and take a look at your tree and determine if the tree is in a safe condition.
The number for Reno Direct is (775) 334-4636.
Basile wanted to add, "Our main concern is public safety, so we do appreciate when people call Reno Direct and report any downed or damaged trees to us."
He also reminds us, "Please be careful; not all trees fall. In some cases, we'll have branches that are broken and hanging in a tree that could fall."
