Companies Replanting Trees After Thousands Fall To Storms
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Last weekend's storms brought on the biggest power outage ever for Xcel Energy. The company has had a hard time getting all the power restored because of the thousands of trees that fell due to rain and wind.
But what does one do with those felled trees? And what about replanting?
Removing a tree can cost $2,000-$4,000, and that's not the end of the hassle.
Jeanine Harvanko, of Brooklyn Park, says she couldn't wait for a tree removal company. She had to call in for backup.
"[The tree] was sitting on my car, and the tires, it was…squishing, down and down. We knew we had to do something quick," she said. "So my family -- my son-in-law, my son, my daughter -- they all came over and they got it off because that would have been a total loss."
Her neighbor, Richard Stanek, got help from his family, too.
"Everywhere we traveled there were trees down, you know," he said. "It's been a mill of a hess, you might say."
That's when a tree replacement company like Peter Doran's come in. He says it's easier to replant if a tree was fully uprooted.
"It's better as far as replanting," said Duran, of Peter Doran Lawn and Landscaping. "But getting rid of a root ball, that's always a challenge, because not that many places want to take the root balls."
Once the roots are pulled out, he says new soil and patience go in.
"And then your new baby tree…you can look forward to watching grow as your kids grow," he said.
It's a process not everyone with trees down is up for.
"I think I'm 81-and-a-half," Stanek said, "and I've come to the end of the trail, I think, for gardening and planting trees and what not."
