Tornado work

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The Branch Doctor

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Last Thursday morning a class III tornado blasted through Windsor Colorado and absolutely wasted the place.:(

I've never gone storm chasing before so I have no experience dealing with devastation on that level.:O

Friday morning we went out there and jumped in to the chaos of ground zero with both feet and.... I'm not sure I have the words that can describe the insanity I swam in for the rest of the day.:|:

The raw power that mother nature possesses is unbelievable! I've never worked a day in my life that was so physically, mentally, and (this one caught me off guard) emotionally draining.

I've got a bunch of pics but they don't come remotely close to what it was like being there neck deep in the shat.:(
 

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4
And some more...
 

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
Here's an old boxelder that blew over onto a house that I had to remove.
 

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is the "d-3" on the house a FEMA tag?
shoulda got your buddies bucket truck!
 
We're any people killed? Looks like you have your work cut out for you. Good luck and work safe.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10
Not sure if that was a fema tag Willie.

The street my groundie took the pictures at was a few blocks from where the neighborhood was totally wiped out so you could say the pics are of a "good" area.

I have a client bout 3 miles to the north of the pics. As we were driving over there we drove by barns (big ones) that were scattered into little pieces all over the fields. My client and his 3 neighbors got pounded hard too, windows, trees, sheds, trailers, whatever, got tossed around like a kid playing in the sand box.


Hell, I saw a spruce that was 80' tall 32"ish wide that didn't get knocked over like the rest of the trees, instead, it got ripped out of the ground root ball and all and landed 50-60 ft away. That a big friggin tree and it flew!:O:O

Mind blowing chit mang!
 
Last headline I saw said 9 people were killed. :(
Storm work is emotionally draining. I had my fill of it 4 years ago, and hardly a week goes by without some friggin' idiot saying "Boy, all you need is another hurricane to get a bunch more work!" and the rage builds up all over again. Just be thorough and careful and don't let others force you into getting in a rush and taking stupid chances. Guys like you are the ones that everybody else needs right now and you can't help anyone if you get yourself hurt. Just take it one day at a time, one house at a time and do what you can do.
 
Rage at idiot homeowmers who think that all I want to do is hack down healthy trees. Yes, rage.

The loss of trees in the Lake Conway area where I grew up was emotionally devastating. The first time I drove through some of those neighborhoods I cried at the loss. The worst part of the cleanup was people wanting me to cut down more trees that weren't damaged. More trees were lost to arborphobia than to the hurricanes.
 
Don't bust a blood vessel over nada!

I don't care what an idiot homeowner thinks of me. Why should I? They're idiots.

Right? :what:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15
It's weird, usually I would be all pumped up to go kick ass and make a lot of money... not on this one, I'm almost dreading it.

Dealing with tragedy, no matter how lucrative, is very difficult... especially amidst mass chaos.
 
Least you don't have to worry 'bout breaking anything... ;)
 
We just had a few tornados come through the north suburbs, only 20 miles from St. Paul proper. Haven't received any calls yet. Actually looks like more home damage than tree damage. I don't like storm work, too stressful!
 
I like working normal hours and making people happy with how beautiful their trees look.

Have you found any straw stuck into any of those trees?
 
It's amazing the trees that are still standing.

The failed ones usually had to have some kinda defect going? yeah?

Great Pictures too.
 
Bodean said:
It's amazing the trees that are still standing.

The failed ones usually had to have some kinda defect going? yeah?

Great Pictures too.
Click to expand...

Thats not th way a tornadoe works Deva. Half the tree is gone no idea where, and the other half loks perfectly normal!! One house is just vaporized, nothing but a hole in the ground while the house next door is just as it was the day before, no broken glass, no mising shingles.
Until you see it, you really never will get it!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #22
MasterBlaster said:
Just yourself! :\:
Click to expand...

Big time! I've got a bunch of trees that I have to go up and get large hangers out of and the hangers are actually large branches and leads from OTHER trees. It's crazy to see a huge chunk of a silver maple waaaay up in an elm 30 yrds away.

Then the next thing I'm thinking is "Aw f$#k, how the hell am I gonna get that thing outta there?":what:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #24
Until you see it, you really never will get it!

I think that is what I'm trying to emphasize cause I don't have the words that can quite describe it.

Oh wait, war zone.... and we got our arses kicked!
 
The Branch Doctor said:
Until you see it, you really never will get it!

I think that is what I'm trying to emphasize cause I don't have the words that can quite describe it.

Oh wait, war zone.... and we got our arses kicked!
Click to expand...

And that doesn't even cover it!! In a war zone there is even damage, a tornado shows no mercy here, and leaves the next one alone.
2X4's stuck in trees, straw in glass, things you can't even imagine!
 
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