ATLANTA — The storm has passed, but the damage to trees remains. And now it is cleanup time.
“My power went out around noon, and about two minutes later I heard a big crash,” Roswell homeowner Chris Erbens told Channel 2’s Candace McCowan.
He found himself trapped at home when a tree came down and blocked his driveway. And when crews came out, he decided to not take any chances.
“We’re doing some preventative maintenance today to try to clean up some other trees that were hanging over my house,” said Erbens as crews worked in his front and backyard.
Crews were clearing his driveway and other limbs hanging over his house. An arborist from Tomahawk Tree Service explained even if the tree didn’t come down, the heavy ice can compromise the fibers of a tree, making it a danger.
“Most of these picks should’ve been about 1,500 pounds. They were about 2,500 pounds a pick,” said Bob Coombs from Tomahawk about the weight of the ice on the trees.
It was a similar scene across North Fulton County. A tree in Sandy Springs kept a homeowner from driving out of their driveway.
And a picture posted by Sandy Springs police showed a tree through a home that sent the homeowner to the hospital. Channel 2 Action News spoke to that homeowner Monday who said they’re doing okay and now cleaning up.
Tree companies worked like surgeons to meticulously bring down parts of trees without striking homes while working in brutal temperatures.
“Well, we have to keep moving, and these little hand warmers do wonders, do great, for keeping the arterial blood supply flowing,” added Coombs.
In Villa Rica, Aylsa Metcalf is counting her blessings. “We heard the loudest bang and the whole house shook so bad I thought the whole house was coming down,” described Metcalf.
A tree came crashing into her front yard just feet from where her son was sleeping around 4:30 Monday morning. She panicked until she heard her son’s voice.
The tree sat on her neighbor’s property across the street.
“We were just in shock because there are power lines everywhere, all the way down the road, the power lines are on the ground. The power company said we have to be the luckiest people alive,” said Metcalf.
“I was just hollering earlier, ‘Thank you, Jesus, thank you,’ because it could’ve been so bad,” said Metcalf, thankful her family is safe.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- Dangerously cold temperatures tonight
- Ring video shows men wanted in shooting of Atlanta woman and 9-year-old
- How much ice did we get? Here is a city-by-city list
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]