Emporians have scrambled to get tree debris cleared after powerful thunderstorms blew through town early Friday. Local arborists have been swamped as they try to meet the sudden demand.
Randy Wellnitz, owner of Wellnitz Tree Care, started fielding calls as soon as 4:30 am Friday — barely 90 minutes after the heavy storms had cleared the area. He says the storms produced the most widespread non-tornado tree damage he has seen locally.
Guzman Tree Service owner German Guzman says the damage is as bad as he can remember. He says the immediate focus is getting trees off power lines. He also says regular tree trimming may help avoid major problems later.
Wellnitz has helped hurricane recovery efforts in the past and likened Friday’s damage to what he has seen on the outskirts of major hurricanes, and he agrees with Guzman that trees should be trimmed on a regular basis.
There are a handful of uprooted trees after measured winds as high as 93 mph and estimated winds as high as 110 mph, the equivalent of low-end EF2 tornado damage or high-end Category 2 hurricane damage. Wellnitz says most of the damage comes from certain structural defects in the affected trees, and both he and Guzman say it’s important to have trees trimmed on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, operations are back to normal at the Lyon-Chase County Transfer Station after extended hours Saturday and Sunday and a full day of helping residents on Labor Day. The Transfer Station stayed open late Saturday as a line continued during normal business hours. It also opened early and stayed open late Sunday.
Solid Waste Supervisor Keith Senn tells KVOE News the traffic and tonnage amounts were both down Monday. Around 300 visits were recorded, down from the average of nearly 500 the prior three days. Seventy tons of tree debris were collected. In all, the Transfer Station has handled over 1,770 customers and collected almost 450 tons of tree debris from Friday morning through Labor Day.
The city of Emporia has not announced whether it will have special tree debris pickup procedures or when it will make that decision.
Roofing companies have also been busy, and Attorney General Derek Schmidt is encouraging residents to make sure they research companies before agreeing to work. Roofing companies need to be registered with the state, so residents should request a copy of the registration certificate and then go online to www.InYourCornerKansas.org to make sure that registration is active.
Door-to-door arborists and roofers will be out in abundance at this time. They must comply with the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, which says among other things that businesses must let customers know they have a 72-hour window to cancel any work and they have to wait at least five business days before cashing checks.
