The perfect storm.
In March, the east coast witnessed the wrath of an intense Nor’easter, which transformed into a bomb cyclone. Coined “Winter Storm Riley”, the tempest brought a mix of rain, snow and heavy
winds up and down the coast.
Left laying in its wake: flooded streets, trees, debris and power outages impacting many.
A Mess in Maryland
For Maryland, it was the worst windstorm since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. A reported 253,000 lost power, with significant damage caused by trees and branches falling on power lines.
Manor Tree Service, a family-owned business out of Glen Arm, Maryland, waited out Winter Storm Riley patiently knowing they had their work cut out for them.
Specializing in residential tree care, removals and small commercial jobs around the Baltimore area, they deployed their team out to residential neighborhoods as soon as the Nor’easter settled.
Danger Lurked
Once it was safe to go outside, the Manor team found uprooted trees leaning on houses, fences, decks, and power lines blocking driveways, roads and streets. Power lines required even more caution and patience to remove and were first on the tree-removal pecking order.
“The main challenge we face with storm removals is danger — trees leaning against structures present a very difficult situation for arborists,” says Cooper Connell, equipment operator at Manor. “Safety is the biggest concern in the wake of a storm because it can be so unpredictable. People do not always realize all the pressure points on a tree, which can be extremely dangerous when cut.”
All of their emergency jobs were taken care of within five days of the storm hitting. But, it would take months for Manor to fully clean up the mess.
You’re Only as Good as Your Equipment
Every successful tree removal service knows experience on the job is crucial, but it can only take you so far. You need a solid fleet of equipment to perform the heavy lifting.
With nearly 40 y
ears of business success, Manor has the experience, and it also has the proper equipment. The company uses cranes as much as it can to remove trees, but it is not always possible.
That’s where the handy Takeuchi TB260 excavator comes in. A staple in the Manor lineup, the crew primarily uses the machine when their cranes are unable to reach a fallen tree. The excavator helped Manor clean up more than 100 trees following Winter Storm Riley.
“The TB260 was vital in helping us handle storm clean-up — the machine increased our productivity exponentially and allowed us to take on jobs otherwise unmanageable,” says Connell. “The excavator lets us safely and quickly remove trees that otherwise could be very time consuming and dangerous to deal with.”
Connell says the TB260 excavator has completely transformed their business, saving the company a great deal of physical labor.
The job is not easy; in fact it can be downright dangerous. It is why people leave tree removal up to the professionals like Manor and its heavy artillery of machinery.