Lawn crews have been hard at work removing tree limbs and debris after strong, destructive winds rolled through Lincoln last weekend.
KLIN News caught up with CEO of Summit Lawns Ted Glaser, who said his company was “hammered with calls” after the storm, with neighborhoods of mature trees seeing the most damage. He mentioned the neighborhoods of Havelock, Meadow Lane, and Country Club were among the hardest hit.
“Everywhere you looked, it was just dump truck after dump truck, trailer after trailer,” Glaser said. “It’s sad to see a tree that’s been there 200 years have to come out.”
Glaser said the most urgent calls—such as trees blocking streets, driveways, or damaging homes—have been addressed. But the rest could take weeks to finish. He urged homeowners not to attempt dangerous tree removals without professional help. Hidden hazards, like broken branches stuck up high, can take years to finally come down.
“If you’ve got a big branch cradled up in a tree, don’t assume it’s fine. It will come down eventually,” he warned, recalling how some debris from Lincoln’s infamous October 1998 snowstorm caused problems for decades afterward.
Homeowners can help reduce future storm damage by staking younger trees, keeping trees healthy with treatments, and making clean cuts on broken limbs to prevent disease.
Glaser says much of the debris is hauled off to mulch yards or city drop sites, where it’s ground up and repurposed. “It’s kind of the circle of life,” Glaser said. “A lot of it gets shredded into mulch and goes right back into the community.”