Largest one-day tree removal in GTA history, says one arborist
Posted July 11, 2018 6:06 pm.
Last Updated July 11, 2018 6:41 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s taken months to coordinate, even though it sounds simple: removing two trees from a homeowner’s backyard in a Leslieville neighbourhood.
The trees came down over two months ago during May’s wind storm. But because of the magnitude of the situation, the work to remove them only started on Wednesday.
Rooted Tree Services says this is the biggest one-day tree job removal in GTA history. The Siberian Elm trees weigh roughly 145,000 pounds.
The homeowners had only been living in the home for six weeks when the trees came crashing down. They say they were stressed when they first saw what their backyard looked like but glad no one was hurt and only the garage was damaged.
The tree removal took a lot of coordination. Rooted Tree Services along with Toronto Police, 30 people and a 240 ton crane were involved.
“The crane operator was just telling me that in 22 years of being a crane operator he’s never actually done a tree job. That’s because this size of crane is normally exclusively used for building other cranes in downtown buildings,” said Peter Crawford with Rooted Tree Services.
The project shut down power for several hours for half of the residents living on the street. The road was also closed due to safety concerns but one neighbour, who couldn’t keep her eyes off the tree removal, didn’t mind the commotion.
“I was wondering how they were going to get it out,” said nearby resident Maryann Barrieau.
The tree removal will cost $80,000 according to the couple. Luckily for them, it is all going through insurance.
