Wet, windy storm season creates surplus of work for tree removal companies
MARIN COUNTY -- The wet winter that wreaked havoc across the Bay Area has tree removal companies facing a serious backlog of projects.
Falling trees have homeowners on high alert looking to do what they can to prevent disasters before it's too late.
"That house owns the property. This house is worried about it falling on their property," said Bob Emrich of Bob's Tree Service.
Emrich and his team say they are being called almost every day to cut down tree after tree. Falling trees and large limbs during a wet winter have created an enormous amount of work for tree removal services.
This time of year has normally been the slow season for Emrich's team that focuses on fire mitigation.
"It's unbelievable. Any tree company that's around is experiencing the most work in a short period of time than they ever have," said Emrich.
Michael Frost with the Marin County Department of Public Works says on one day alone recently, the county was dealing with 60 downed trees.
"We had a couple trees falling on homes. One crushing a car and seriously injuring a passenger, dealing with tree issues, and removing known hazards is a frequent topic," said Frost.
Emrich now has a Rolodex of videos and pictures of homes damaged including a recent job that took days to finish after a massive tree landed on a home in Mill Valley.
"I've lived here 37 years. I've never seen anything like this," said Emrich.
Emrich says he's getting 20-to-30 calls a day.
What's unusual is the number of jobs to remove trees that appear to be healthy.
"The healthy trees are falling. It's not just dead trees because the ground is so saturated from the rain. The root balls can't hold on any more," said Emrich.
During fire season his team usually hacks away to create defensible space on properties. Work has been consistent and predictable. But the last few months have been different, with homeowners ramping up demand to take down all kinds of trees.
"We're seeing a lot of oaks, because that's a weaker root system. The oaks and cypress are mostly what we're seeing," said Emrich.
His team of six needs more hands because of high demand. Business is booming.
"We're not praying for a disaster. But it's happening. Hopefully this is the end," said Emrich.
Even with drier weather ahead, there's plenty of work to go around.
Emrich said even if he can't get to a job right away, customers have been patient knowing just how many trees have fallen during the last few months.