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TT: Big Storm
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Dear TreeTown,
I have read some information on the list about storm damage, and until now
I have not had the time to respond. On Oct. 26th, 1997 a very early winter
storm dumped 1-12" of very wet snow on Omaha/Western Iowa and Central Iowa.
Normally, at this time of the year most species have lost the majority of
their leaves, but because of extended warm conditions they had not. The
species hit the worst were silver maple, ornamental pear, Russian olive,
and Siberian elm, but any species that had leaves on still (such as the
oaks) were open for damage. In Omaha, power was out for a week in some
places and schools were closed for a few days in some of those areas. The
cleanup costs are in the millions for the Omaha area alone. In Des Moines,
IA they are looking at around $2 Million for cleanup costs. Since Oct.26
they have removed 400 dump truck loads a day of wood waste from the storm
and as of today (Dec.1) they are still not done. In Iowa 11 counties have
been decalared National Disaster areas by Mr. Clinton. Our state DNR is
currently working with FEMA to help those communities in need. In
Extension we have been doing news realeases, radio, and workshops to help
folks out. On that Sunday morning when folks headed outside they said it
sounded like a war zone as branches and trees snapped from the weight of
the snow. In many of the towns in Iowa silver maple is over 50% of the
community tree population, and there were very few of these trees that did
not receive major damage. Just wanted to pass this on.
Thanks,
Mark Vitosh
Program Assistant
Extension Forestry
Iowa State University
Zone 4
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