It has now been two weeks since the powerful derecho tore through the Cedar Rapids area, toppling countless trees.
“This is the worst storm I’ve ever seen,” Kevin Hardy, with Cutting Edge Tree Services in Mason City, tells KCRG-TV 9.
Hardy and his crew of four dropped all of their jobs in Mason City to come work in the Cedar Rapids area. Hardy was contracted to work on Four Oaks properties. Some of those were in low-income neighborhoods like Wellington Heights. He said leaving the branches on the ground could be dangerous.
“We’re seeing trees that were hollow in the middle and collapsing under their weight,” Hardy says. “We’re seeing a lot of trees that have weak attachment points and were splitting.”
For those who live in the Wellington Heights neighborhood, getting all the trees and limbs to the curb to be picked up by Hardy and others wasn’t an easy task.
Hardy said they were starting to see progress around town after working for the last two weeks, but there was still a lot more work to be done.
“We’re removing trees from houses and buildings,” Hardy tells KCRG-TV 9. “We’re taking broken hanging limbs, and trying to keep the neighborhood safe.”