How a tree risk assessment can protect your property during a storm

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s been several days since a tornado swept through a Grove Park neighborhood, leaving residents to clean up the aftermath.

Electrical crews were still replacing fallen utility lines and removing debris from overturned trees.

Experts advise homeowners to take advantage of risk assessments to learn which trees on their property are likely to fall during a storm.

WATCH: ‘It was very scary’: Video shows tornado lift truck, send it flying across Jacksonville road

“The most preventative thing you can do is have an arborist come out. Check it out. Just look at it,” Treeco Tree expert Geoffrey Smith said.

Smith emphasized that it’s important to hire an arborist and not a tree trimmer.

“You want someone who knows what they are talking about,” Smith said.

A tree risk assessment will let a homeowner know if there is a problem with a tree on their property that might pose a risk to their home or a neighbor’s property.

Smith said during the assessment, an arborist can find small problems that may lead to greater issues.

“You’ve got improper cuts on trees,” Smith pointed out. “A proper cut is going to be back to the trunk of the tree. There’s a spot you’re going to cut back to so you can prevent it from decaying on the inside of the trunk of the tree. This will continue to cause it to decay and cause holes in the trunk of the tree.”

Smith also pointed out an example of a tree that was dying from the top down. It was a skinny tree suffering from response growth.

“It’s going to continue to grow as many sprouts as possible because this right here is responsible for photosynthesis. All of the green leaves are reasonable for that,” Smith said.

Trees can also experience the same problem in reverse, where the bottom of the tree is dead and the rest of the tree is not.

That can make it easy for strong winds to blow over the dying trees.

Before hiring a tree expert, ensure that the person or company is insured.

It’s best to also do research before selecting a company.