TOLEDO, Ohio — Wednesday night's thunderstorms ripped through Toledo, bringing gusty winds and strong rain and leaving plenty of storm debris. Just 24 hours later residents were calculating the damage.
One west Toledo family said a tree that's been in their yard for more than 60 years now has to come down. Not only are they dealing with the prospect of paying for tree removal, but they were one of thousands of families still without power after the storm.
This is a scene playing out across the city the day after severe weather swept through the Toledo region Wednesday.
"Not only are we dealing with electrical hazards but the trees themselves they can be under pressure. you can make a cut and it can snap and go flying quick and a hurry and that's the part of it that you have to think it through, and it is dangerous," said Bainaomukiza Mutabihirwa, Pennline Foreman and Toledo Edison subcontractor.
Mutabihirwa said his crew will work on trees daily but severe storm damage makes the work more dangerous.
Dennis Kennedy, Toledo Department of Beautification commissioner said the department ordinarily receives about 130 service requests a week from residents asking for help, On Thursday morning the department was dealing with 400 service requests, he said.
Kennedy said city crews are still working to clean up damage from the June tornado that struck north Toledo's Point Place neighborhood and identifying damaged trees that may need to be removed.
"This is what they are educated and trained on," he said. "However, we have 94,000 trees in the city of Toledo, so putting eyes on every one of them is almost impossible. We do have them mapped out in our GIS software program so we know where they are located at but every tree is subjective a healthy tree could collapse tomorrow because of a storm and a tree that looks dead could be standing 11 years."
As of Thursday morning, there were 40 roads blocked by debris in Toledo and nine crews working to clean them.
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