On April 29 of this year many areas in and surrounding Pittsburgh were hit by a storm. Reportedly the storm hit an area 60 miles wide and the gusts of wind were 70 to 80 miles per hour or more. I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones. My power went out for about 90 minutes. Fortunately, the power outage occurred while it was still somewhat light outside. Against my better judgement I went to the window and watched the trees swaying behind my house. The trees are very large and old. Not long ago one fell on my neighbor’s house and destroyed their fence and the roof. During the recent storm my block was lucky, no trees were uprooted. However, when I went out the next day I saw numerous downed trees, broken fences and power was out in so many locations. The stop lights were out at most of the intersections and drivers were forced to treat it as a four way stop. For the most part drivers followed the rules. It seems like everyone is always in a big hurry to get to the next red light. One of my friends lost the roof on their home and of course they are without power. The upside is she was not hurt. In a lot of Pittsburgh neighborhoods, we have very large mature trees that cost thousands of dollars to have trimmed or cut and many people do not want to cut the trees because they are so attractive. If you are a homeowner and have large trees it may not be a bad idea to get an estimate for tree trimming. It may be worth it to have it trimmed before the next severe storm.
Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com
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