For more than two decades, Cherie Rains admired the twin cottonwood trees that stood in the backyard of her Anchorage home.
Last week’s storms toppled that tree and the second one is listing, like Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa. The other cottonwood left a trail of damage to Rains' and her neighbor's yards.
“I had two young men that stay here with me, they came and told us that it had gone down at about 10 after midnight, and they said it sounded like a big whoosh!” Rains said.
As another storm with potentially severe weather for Anchorage lurks in the Bering Sea, folks like Rains are scrambling to clear their yard of debris. The Municipality of Anchorage says there's still leftover debris scattered around town from last week's storms.
"If you already have debris and trees in your yard, that you haven't been able to remove yet, we would encourage you to try and get that done before the next storm hits, to avoid extra damage," said Anchorage Emergency Operations Center spokeswoman Dawn Brantley.
Brantley says the muni's 2-1-1 service can help residents find tree removal services along with other resources available.
Rains says she called one tree removal company that's backlogged with calls and she doesn't think they will be able to remove the listing cottonwood before the storms move in Saturday.
"I can't see at all, I'm blind from reading medical records, so I see nature totally different because I can't see good," Rains said. "So these trees mean a lot, they're part of 20 years of my life."
Brantley also encourages residents to purchase radios equipped with an internal charger for cell phones. The municipality and the Red Cross will decide after the storm if shelters will be necessary.
Contact Adam Pinsker
