Longview continues to pay high price for 2011 tree damage

The city of Longview is still feeling the effects of the 2011 drought and was forced to cut down more than 200 dead or dying trees during the last fiscal year.

If there is a tree on city-owned property and it has the potential to cause a danger, a public safety hazard (it is removed), said Director of Community Services Laura Hill.

The city spent about $80,000 to remove dead trees this past year, and is expected to spend as much this year, Hill said.

All trees taken down were either dead or diseased, she said. Trees are removed from city parks and city right of way if they present a potential danger to people or property.

The number of trees removed annually has skyrocketed since a 2011 drought that killed about 301 million trees across the state and removed about 4 percent of Northeast Texas trees, according to a study by the Texas A&M Forest Service.

My budget used to be about $22,000 (for tree removal), and then after the 2011 drought, that next year was in excess of $100,000; so, it has kind of leveled off, but we had so many trees that were just weakened, Hill said.

The year after the drought, the department spent more than $90,000 to remove about 640 dead trees from parks, walking trails, cemeteries and other public property.

Chris Brown, the forest inventory and analysis coordinator for the forest service, said seeing continued damages from the devastating drought is not surprising.

At one point during summer 2011, 95 percent of the state was in the most extreme drought classification, leading to statewide wildfires and low lake levels.

That will be a long-term problem. That will slowly get better over time. Although, in the years since we still have been in drought conditions, Brown said.

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Longview continues to pay high price for 2011 tree damage